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Chris Columbus directed one of the all-time holiday classics with 1990’s “Home Alone.” Fans of 1992’s “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” would say he has two under his belt. The films also made a superstar out of Macaulay Culkin, who played a young Kevin McCallister in both films, but the franchise continued without Columbus or Culkin with a series of sequels over the years. So, what exactly does the director think of these films?
Columbus and Culkin recently reunited for a 35th anniversary screening of “Home Alone” at the Academy Museum. During a Q&A, the filmmaker was asked about sequels (via The Hollywood Reporter), ranging from 1997’s “Home Alone 3” to 2021’s direct-to-Disney+ release “Home Sweet Home Alone.” He didn’t mince his words. Here’s what he had to say about it:
“It was revisited with some really bad sequels. Sorry to insult anyone, but they completely screwed it up. It started with ‘Home Alone 3’ and then it went downhill from there; ‘Home Alone 3’ is kind of the best of the bunch of bad movies.”
“Plus, they didn’t have us,” Culkin joked. Both were content to move on, with Culkin largely stepping away from Hollywood for a while, although he has been acting more lately. He even reprized his role as Kevin from “Home Alone” in a 2018 Google commercial.
For what it’s worth, this isn’t the first time Columbus has said disparaging things about the franchise’s latest installments. In a November 2020 interview, he called the Disney+ reboot, ultimately titled “Home Sweet Home Alone,” a “waste of time.” Columbus also pointed out that no one contacted him about the matter before the development, which could have added to his dismay.
Would Chris Columbus make a new Home Alone sequel?
The “Home Alone” sequels are not well regarded by critics in general. None of them managed to break through like the original films. The first two are annual holiday staples, as well as being huge box office hits. There’s something that resonates about seeing Kevin foil the so-called Wet Bandits, played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern.
Columbus also added during the Q&A session that he had “heard about 600 different ideas” for sequels. Culkin recently presented his own version of a third “Home Alone” focused on Kevin. Would Columbus get back in the saddle for a new entry? The director had, at one point, conceived of a film that would have brought back the Wet Bandits seeking revenge on Kevin after their release from prison. As Columbus explains:
“They’re bitter, they’re angry, and they want revenge. And who do they want revenge against? Macaulay. And at that time, I was thinking that Macaulay might have a kid, kind of the same age as Kevin, and it would be his own kid dealing with these two guys…I don’t think Joe Pesci would be interested. I haven’t seen Dan Stern since 1992, I don’t know if he would be interested. The problem is when you makes a movie like this, a lot of it is really based on casting; some of it is based on casting at that age, at that particular time, and I don’t think you can replicate that.”
It seems Columbus feels it’s best to leave him alone at this point. For now, he’s turning his attention to “Gremlins 3.” Maybe Culkin can bring his idea to fruition with another director. Or maybe it’s really better to let it happen.
You can grab the “Home Alone 2-Movie Collection” on Blu-ray from Amazon.
