Home Alone is now firmly established as a holiday season classic and there were cries of anger when the movie was pulled from Disney+ at the end of 2019. But fans of the premise won’t be left empty-handed for long, as the wheels are beginning to turn on a reboot of the concept that will air on the aforementioned streaming service.
We don’t know too much about it just yet, but multiple outlets are now reporting that Kenan Thompson, Ally Maki and Chris Parnell have joined the cast. Already announced as the star of the movie is Jojo Rabbit‘s Archie Yates, who’ll be playing Max, the Macauley Culkin role. Yates was one of the funniest actors in Taika Waititi’s Oscar-winning comedy, so I have high hopes that he can fill Culkin’s pretty big shoes.
Rounding out the cast, meanwhile, are Aisling Bea, Timothy Simons, Pete Holmes and Mikey Day. Dirty Grandpa director Dan Mazer is in the director’s chair and SNL writers Mikey Day and Streeter Seidel are on script duties.
For more, here’s the official synopsis:
“The new Home Alone film will follow a husband and wife who go to war with a young boy, Max, who has stolen from them. Max is an energetic, witty nine-year-old boy with a mischievous side. He feels wise beyond his years and has the personality to easily converse with adults — plus the uncanny ability to relentlessly push their buttons. But, he also displays a sense of innocence and a kind heart, much like the original protagonist.”
I think Home Alone is deceptively tricky to get right and the precocious smart-ass kid role requires note-perfect casting. Culkin pulled it off in the original, though even by Home Alone 2: Lost in New York the shine had begun to come off the premise a bit. The franchise ended up having three further sequels with new child actors: Home Alone 3, Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House and Home Alone: The Holiday Heist. They’re all terrible (to be fair, Holiday Heist had a few funny moments) and star exceptionally annoying child actors.
After the Fox merger, Disney owns the property now, so let’s hope they’ve been taking notes on what not to do in a Home Alone movie. But, as said, Archie Yates was extremely funny in Jojo Rabbit, so fingers crossed he can replicate that in the reboot.