A soft reboot of iconic Christmas movie Home Alone just found its new Kevin McAllister. Archie Yates just won iconic role, according to The Hollywood Reporter, but don’t expect the exact same character as the one Macaulay Culkin originated in the original 1990 movie.
Yates appeared as an unforgettable supporting character in Taika Waititi's film JoJo Rabbit, which marks his sole credit on IMDb thus far. In the movie — which is based on Christine Leunen’s 2008 novel Caging Skies — Yates plays Yorki, whose best friend Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) has Adolf Hitler for an imaginary friend. The cast of the film, as well as star Scarlett Johansson, are nominated for Screen Actors Guild Awards next year.
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The new Home Alone was announced by Disney back in August, along with several other film reboots like Night At the Museum, Cheaper By the Dozen, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. All films are a part of the Fox library, which Disney acquired when it purchased the corporation for $52 billion earlier this year.
This version of Home Alone may be less of a true reboot and more a film in the same spirit of the original, per THR. The film stars Ellie Kemper and Rob Delaney as a couple who “go to war” with a neighborhood kid after they learn he has stolen a precious heirloom.
The new story behind the reboot makes a lot of sense. It’s hard to imagine how a family could forget about their son before a family vacation in the ever-connected age of 2019, where Find My Friends could locate the new Kevin back at his house just in time. Even if the family did take off for Paris sans their child, he could probably call his own Uber to the airport — and even book his own way to Europe via Google Flights.
For those who are bummed about a reboot that doesn’t stay true to the classic film, there is some potential good news. Though the film is called Home Alone while in development, sources for THR claim that the upcoming movie may have an entirely new title when it’s released.
Refinery29 reached out to Disney for comment.
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