'The Family Stone' sequel is in the works as a tribute to Diane Keaton

As the festive spirit fills the air, movie lovers everywhere will soon be cuddling up with their favourite Christmas classics. Among them is "The Family Stone", a heart-warming story led by the late Diane Keaton. 

And fans might soon have a new reason to celebrate as writer-director Thomas Bezucha has plans for a sequel to honour Keaton after her passing in October.

"The Family Stone", released in 2005, stars Keaton as Sybil Stone, a matriarch whose family gathers for Christmas as they deal with her cancer diagnosis.

The film also features other well-known actors, including Craig T. Nelson, Dermot Mulroney, Sarah Jessica Parker, Luke Wilson, Claire Danes, Rachel McAdams and Tyrone Giordano. 

According to online reports, Bezucha had been working on a sequel script since before Keaton's death on October 11.

Thereafter, Bezucha felt even more inspired to create a fitting tribute to the actress and ensure he does "a good job by the rest of the cast" and "honour her even more".

"I’ve been haunted by the loss of Sybil for months now while I worked on it, 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," he said in an interview.

Bezucha added that when he first had an idea for the sequel, he contacted his producer and said he was only interested in pursuing it and embarking on a script if the principal cast was interested.

While there is still no official green light for the sequel, Mulroney hinted on social media earlier this month that a follow-up is already in the works. 

According to "Box Office Mojo", the first “Family Stone” film grossed almost $93 million worldwide on a budget of $18 million.