Disney’s Home Alone reboot, officially titled Home Sweet Home Alone, is set to release on Disney+ this November 12th. Like so many other productions during the pandemic era, the festive reboot was initially intended to release slightly earlier. There hasn’t been much in terms of promotional material for the film, but with the release date now officially confirmed and November just around the corner, it likely won’t be long before a trailer arrives.

The first Home Alone film achieved a blockbuster status upon its arrival in 1990. But beyond the tremendous success of the film at the box office, it also secured Home Alone’s place as a Christmas season classic. Even today, the holidays just aren’t the same for many fans without at least one viewing of Home Alone. Given the success of the first film and the star that it made out of lead child actor Macaulay Culkin, a sequel was somewhat inevitable. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York arrived just two years later and repeated much of what made the original film a hit, though with a New York setting. The sequel did up the ante in terms of the level of punishment that Kevin (Culkin) put dimwit burglars Marv and Harry (Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci) through and today some fans even prefer the sequel over the original.

After four more poorly received sequels – none of which included Culkin, Stern, Pesci or director Chris Columbus – Disney has decided to take a shot at rebooting the franchise. According to a Disney+ press release, the film has settled on a holiday season release date, landing at Disney+ on November 12th. The new film won’t feature any of the original cast in any major roles, though it has been rumored that Culkin will feature in a cameo. Described by Disney as a “reimagining of the popular holiday franchise,” Home Sweet Home Alone is written by SNL alums Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell and directed by Dan Mazer (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm). The Culkin role, now called Max, will be played by Archie Yates (Jojo Rabbit).


What’s known so far about the film’s plot is that it focuses on a married couple who are stuck trying to steal a valuable heirloom back from a child. The cast boasts a lot of comedic talent, with Rob Delaney (Catastrophe), Ellie Kemper (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Kenan Thompson (SNL), and Chris Parnell (Rick and Morty) all on board for what looks to be a different sort of film from the original. The plan here does seem to be to build a new Christmas season classic for a different generation, though with four previous efforts within the franchise having resoundingly failed to regain the momentum of the first two films, it’s safe to say that this latest effort faces something of an uphill battle.

For fans of the original two Home Alone films, the chances that Home Sweet Home Alone will offer anything new feels unlikely. Remaking a classic is never an easy task and with the franchise’s sequel track record, there’s a certain degree of cynicism that fans feel toward any attempt at reliving the past. However, if the reboot does what Disney claims it will do with regard to reimagining the franchise, then something new could potentially take hold under the Home Alone IP. It all remains to be seen, of course, but there’s sure to be plenty of interest when the film arrives on Disney+ this November.