To the delight of many fans, a long overdue follow-up to the classic film, A Christmas Story, will be available this holiday season. Beloved character, Ralphie Parker, played by Peter Billingsley, is all grown up and now a family man that must carry the tradition of his mother (Melinda Dillon) and late father (Darren McGavin) in A Christmas Story Christmas.
Based on the novel In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash by Jean Shepherd, A Christmas Story introduced Ralphie in 1983 as the overzealous 9-year-old kid with a raging desire for a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun for Christmas. His parents pretty much opposed this idea with the taunt that he would poke his eye out. When he shockingly receives the BB gun as a gift, he ends up accidentally shooting his glasses off, which is followed by a host of hilarious occurrences in the Parker household.
Forty years later, now a full-grown adult, Ralphie returns to his childhood home on Cleveland Street to relive a magical Christmas with his wife and children in A Christmas Story Christmas. Clay Kaytis, who also directs, Nick Schenk, and Billingsley contributed to the story and script.
The cast includes original actors, Scott Schwartz as Flick, R.D. Robb as Schwartz, and Zack Ward as Scut Farkus, the neighborhood bully who is now an officer. Erinn Hayes, Julie Hagerty, and J.R. Esposito are among the cast, as well.
There was a sequel released in 2012 called A Christmas Story 2, but it did not contain any of the original actors. The sequel was set six years later from the original setting in the 1970s, with a teenage Ralphie wishing for a convertible car. The Brian Levant directed film didn’t get as much acclaim as A Christmas Story, but received a decent rating among viewers.
Watch The Official Trailer To ‘A Christmas Story Christmas’
A Christmas Story Christmas releases Nov. 17 on HBO Max.
