Disney Announces Premiere Date For 'Home Alone' Reboot

Walt Disney Co DIS has announced a Nov. 12 premiere on the Disney+ streaming service for a reboot of the “Home Alone” film franchise.

What Happened: The franchise launched in 1990 with “Home Alone,” written by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus, with Macaulay Culkin as a Chicago youngster who deals with incompetent burglars after being accidentally left home when his family takes a Christmas vacation to Paris. Culkin starred in the 1992 sequel “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” that included a gag appearance by Donald Trump.

This was followed by three additional films, one made for theatrical release and two made for television, with different child actors playing variations on the left-behind little boy story.

The new film, “Home Sweet Home Alone,” mirrors the plot of the original film, except that the family takes off for Japan without him. Archie Yates, a British child actor who gained prominence in the 2019 comedy “Jojo Rabbit,” plays the spunky tyke who fends for himself.

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What Else Happened: "Home Sweet Home Alone" was intended for the 2020 holiday season, with production commencing in Canada in February 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the postponement of production, which didn't resume until November 2020.

Disney+ tweeted a publicity photo montage for the film, noting its premiere is three months away. Yates, Ellie Kemper, Rob Delaney and Ally Maki were featured in the tweet.

Absent from the promotional push is Culkin, who has a cameo appearance as a grown-up version of his character from the 1990 original. Getting Culkin to come back to the franchise reportedly cost Disney more than $2.5 million.