‘Family Stone’ director plans sequel to honor Diane Keaton

Thomas Bezucha, writer and director of the 2005 holiday favorite The Family Stone, is reportedly developing a sequel to honor the late Diane Keaton.

The Christmas classic starred Keaton as Sybil Stone, the beloved matriarch whose breast cancer diagnosis shakes up the family’s reunion.

In a recent CNN interview, Bezucha shared that the loss of Keaton has deeply impacted him while working on the follow-up.

“I’ve been haunted by the loss of Sybil for months now while I worked on it, and so this was a blow on a tender bruise already,” he said. “Mentally, I’ve been spending time in that house where I’ve been missing her for a while already.”

Bezucha told CNN that creating the sequel has become a personal mission.

“With this follow-up, I want to do a good job by the rest of the cast and honor [Keaton] even more,” he said, noting that he wants to celebrate her momentous work in the holiday classic.

The original film was distributed by 20th Century Fox, now part of Disney, which has not commented on the sequel.

Keaton passed away on October 11 at age 79 due to bacterial pneumonia. Her family released a statement expressing gratitude for the outpouring of support.

The statement read: “The Keaton family are very grateful for the extraordinary messages of love and support they have received these past few days on behalf of their beloved Diane.”

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