At least one person isn’t a fan of the upcoming Disney+ Home Alone reboot. While fans of the Macaulay Culkin-starring Christmas film and its spinoffs have been eagerly awaiting the promised reboot, Chris Columbus, the director of Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, is not on that list, instead dubbing the project a major “waste of time.”
Speaking with Insider in an interview marking the original film’s 30th anniversary that was published Thursday, Columbus admitted that he isn’t on board with the planned reimagining. Dismissing the project as “a waste of time as far as I’m concerned” and begging the question, “what’s the point,” Columbus revealed that he was not contacted by the streamer about the reboot.
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“I’m a firm believer that you don’t remake films that have had the longevity of Home Alone. You’re not going to create lightning in a bottle again. It’s just not going to happen. So why do it?” he told the outlet. “It’s like doing a paint-by-numbers version of a Disney animated film — a live-action version of that. What’s the point? It’s been done. Do your own thing. Even if you fail miserably, at least you have come up with something original.
Making its theatrical debut in 1990, Home Alone became an instant success, earning over $470 worldwide for Fox, according to IndieWire. Starring Culkin as the lead, Kevin McCallister, who is mistakenly left behind when his family flies to Paris for their Christmas vacation, the film also starred Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. It has since become a Christmas movie classic and has spawned four sequels – Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), Home Alone 3 (1997), Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House (2002), and Home Alone: The Holiday Heist (2012).
Disney+’s reboot was confirmed to be in the works back in August of 2019, with Disney President Bob Iger announcing that the company’s streaming platform would be home to a number of “reimaginings” of Disney classics, including films from Fox’s library such as Home Alone, Night at the Museum, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Cheaper by the Dozen. It is not, however, the only reimagining of the film in the works. Prior to its merger with Disney, Fox was in development on a Ryan Reynolds-starring film dubbed Stoned Alone, with Columbus reacting to that film by stating, “God only knows what that will be. A stoner version of Home Alone? Listen, have fun. I just feel, do something new. Life is short.”
