Family Stone 2 cast revealed: Sarah Jessica Parker confirms return to star-studded sequel... as new Emmy-winner signs on after Diane Keaton's death

Sarah Jessica Parker has officially signed on to The Family Stone sequel. 

The 61-year-old star will reprise her role as high-strung Meredith Morton in the forthcoming film, titled The Families Stone. 

The original movie, released in December 2005, has become a holiday classic over the past two decades, with avid fans spending years begging for a follow-up.  

Rachel McAdams, Claire Danes, Dermot Mulroney, and Craig T. Nelson, who all appeared in the original, will also be returning for the sequel, set to shoot in upstate New York this fall. 

Meanwhile, Emmy winner Jean Smart, 75, has also confirmed she will be appearing in the movie as a new character. 

Smart has been tapped amid the absence of the late Diane Keaton, who had a lead role in the original movie but died in October 2025 at the age of 79. 

On Wednesday, Searchlight Pictures announced the news in an Instagram post, writing in a caption, 'Welcome Jean Smart to The Families Stone.'

The production company's logline for the forthcoming film reads, 'Twenty years after their mother’s passing, the Stone family reunites for Christmas only to face the season’s biggest surprise: their father has unexpectedly invited the woman he’s fallen in love with (Smart) to meet the family.'

The original flick, released in December 2005, follows Meredith Morton (Parker) as she joins boyfriend Everett Stone (Mulroney) in visiting his off-kilter family for Christmas.

The 'stone' in the title references Everett's family as well as their heirloom – a coveted wedding ring Meredith vies for as she attempts to win over his mother Sybil Stone (Keaton). 

Writer-director Thomas Bezucha told CNN after Keaton's death last year that he was mourning both Sybil and Keaton.

'I’ve been haunted by the loss of Sybil for months now while I worked on [the sequel],' he shared, 'And so this was a blow on a tender bruise already.

'Mentally, I’ve been spending time in that house where I’ve been missing her for a while already.'

The iconic actress died on October 11 after suffering from bacterial pneumonia, leaving behind kids, Dexter, 30, and Duke, 26.

Bezucha told the outlet last year that writing the sequel was a way to honor the late star and 'do a good job by the rest of the cast.'

Earlier this month, Smart was given a standing ovation as she won the Lead Comedy Actress trophy for Hacks.

The historic triumph made her the first female performer to win an Emmy for every season of a show.

Smart now has five Lead Comedy Actress gongs for her portrayal of Deborah Vance in the HBO drama, which aired its final season this year.

The actress is only the second person to achieve the accomplishment after Bill Cosby won for all three seasons of I Spy between 1966 and 1968.

Taking to the stage at Los Angeles' Peacock Theater, she joked of her standing ovation: 'Just the men stay standing, the girls get to sit down.'

She continued, 'I'm serious. Every time this happens I think of the girls going, "Oh, I just got comfortable." With your Spanx and your tape, and your shoes that are cutting your toes off, you're thinking, "Ugh she's not that good."

'I have so many people to thank – my reps are the best in the business, my children are my anchor, but this one I'm dedicating to Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky. It all begins and ends with them. I love you guys so much. What a ride. Thank you all.'