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Kieran Culkin might have the Oscar sitting on his shelf, but it’s his older brother Disney wants right now. The studio has reportedly been talking with Macaulay Culkin about bringing back the Home Alone franchise — and according to insiders, they’re not just casually interested.
The Town with Matthew Belloni podcast broke the news, reporting that Disney met with Culkin directly and is “extremely eager” to lock down a deal.
What the Sequel Might Actually Look Like
Here’s where it gets interesting. Culkin’s had a pitch for a Home Alone follow-up brewing for a while now, and it flips the original premise on its head.
Picture this: Kevin McCallister, all grown up, is now a single dad who’s stretched too thin. He’s not the one sneaking around avoiding burglars this time — he’s locked out of the house by his own son. And that kid? He’s the one setting the traps now.
Culkin actually laid out the concept himself during his A Nostalgic Night with Macaulay Culkin tour last year.
“I kind of had this idea. I’m either a widower or a divorcee. I’m raising a kid and all that stuff,” Culkin said. “I’m working really hard, and I’m not really paying enough attention, and the kid is kind of getting miffed at me, and then I get locked out. [Kevin’s son] won’t let me in… and he’s the one setting traps for me. The house is some sort of metaphor for our relationship. [Kevin has to] get back into [his] son’s heart.”
That’s a surprisingly emotional angle for a franchise best known for paint cans to the face.
Belloni says he’s talked to people who’ve actually heard Culkin pitch this in person, and the consensus is that it’s a “really good idea.” Whether that translates to a script Disney greenlights is a separate question — but the buzz alone says something.
Culkin’s Been Busy Lately
This isn’t a guy climbing out of obscurity for one more paycheck, either. Culkin’s had a steady run of work recently — he voiced a role in Zootopia 2, popped up in American Horror Story, and joined the cast of The Righteous Gemstones. He also appeared in Fallout, and starred alongside his wife, Brenda Song, in Running Point.
So this wouldn’t exactly be a comeback. More like a continuation.
As for the original — Home Alone hit theaters in 1990 and pretty much became holiday-movie shorthand overnight. Culkin followed it up two years later with Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, cementing Kevin McCallister as one of the more recognizable kid characters of the era.
Whether Disney and Culkin actually get a deal signed is still up in the air. But given how eager the studio reportedly is, this one might move faster than most reboot talks tend to.
