‘A Christmas Story’ Sequel Releases New Trailer And Update From Its Star 40 Years Later

TV & Film

Nov 6

A Christmas Story has a new sequel ready to serve up for the holiday season. Peter Billingsley (Spider-Man: Far from Home) returns to the role of Ralphie Parker for A Christmas Story Christmas, which sees Ralphie come home for the holidays following his father’s death and decades after the events of the first film. When his mother, played by Julie Hagerty in the role originated by now-retired Melinda Dillon, tasks him with making this “a wonderful Christmas” to honor his father’s memory, Ralphie seems destined to relive the deer-in-headlights anxiety of his childhood holidays.

Several familiar faces return to the small-town Indiana setting, including Zack Ward as Scut Farkus, Scott Schwartz, and R.D. Robb as Flick and Schwartz, respectively. Ian Petrella has been largely absent from feature film since his turn as Randy Parker in the original but resumes the role in this sequel, which reportedly aims to separate itself from the lesser-known and certainly less popular sequel attempts such as My Summer Story and direct-to-video fare A Christmas Story 2. New to the franchise are Erinn Hayes (Parks and Recreation) as Ralphie’s wife, Sandy, River Drosche as their son Mark, and Julianna Layne as their daughter Julie.

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The original film was short-lived in cinemas in 1983.While profitable during its short theatrical run, the original film was not necessarily a blockbuster. Its cultural status grew out of other platforms: on video cassette in the 80s and on reruns and holiday marathons. Peter Billingsley has diversified in the years since his seminal turn as Ralphie, adding producer and writer to his credits as an actor, and on this occasion, he fulfills all three roles while Clay Kaytis (The Christmas Chronicles) takes on directorial duties.

Kids from A Christmas Story — Image Source: Today

In a recent interview with People, Billingsley discussed the similarities in tone between this film and its predecessor, citing the Red Ryder bb gun obsession that drove his character as a child, which has its counterpart in Ralphie’s “quest” to live out the legacy of the Old Man. He also expressed that revisiting Ralphie as a father felt timely, given that Billingsley is now a father of two.