For almost 40 years, A Christmas Story has been a holiday staple beloved by a wide array of fans. Although there’s been a couple of sequels, and a musical adaptation, Peter Billingsley had never returned to the role of Ralphie Parker since that first film. That’s now changed, as the new movie release A Christmas Story Christmas has a new legacy-quel heading to HBO Max, as Ralphie heads home for a bittersweet, but chaotic Christmas.
Recently released by HBO Max, the trailer for this latest follow-up to Bob Clark’s 1983 classic picks up with Ralph Parker all grown up. Upon the passing of The Old Man, A Christmas Story Christmas is all about Ralphie traveling with his wife (Erinn Hayes) and kids to the old house on Cleveland Street.
Promising his mother (Julie Hagerty) that he’ll help make a Christmas his father would be proud of, our returning holiday narrator seems to be in a bit over his head. Ralphie's going to need the help of some old friends, his fond memories, and a bit of holiday magic, in order to pull this off. And lucky for him, he's at least got two of those three factors in the bag.
A handful of actors from the original cast of A Christmas Story are returning for the festivities in The Christmas Chronicles director Clay Kaytis’s would-be holiday hit, which really helps with that familiar faces angle. Most prominently featured in A Christmas Story Christmas’ trailer is Ralphie’s old pals Flick (Scott Schwartz) and Schwartz (R. D. Robb), who clearly haven’t learned much about the invocation of a “triple dog dare’ in their adult lives.
Not to mention Ralph’s brother Randy (Ian Petrella) and bully Scut Farkus (Zack Ward) also popped up in this footage, teasing even more callbacks to the past. While it’s not certain how much of a balance there will be between new characters and old favorites, what we know about A Christmas Story Christmas is that it’s definitely made to bring fans of that iconic classic back to the fold.
That’s probably a good thing, as some of the franchise’s admirers probably still remember the, shall we say, questionable sequel A Christmas Story 2 rather freshly. With this third attempt at a cinematic continuation now on the way, A Christmas Story Christmas has a lot to live up to when being compared to author Jean Shepherd’s trivia inspiring source material. Looking at this trailer, the spirit of the Parker family’s history as one of the most popular Christmas movies streaming, or otherwise, feels very much alive.
Don’t worry, those of you with an HBO Max subscription shouldn’t fear the Christmas Creep just yet. A Christmas Story Christmas won’t be debuting until November 17th, so you still have time to prepare. Though if you do want to dig into some holiday cheer bright and early, you can stream A Christmas Story from this very same library.
