A Christmas Story Christmas: Ralphie Reunites With Randy, Flick, Schwartz And Farkus In HBO Max Sequel Trailer

Ralphie mourns the loss of his old man and reunites with old friends in the nostalgic, full-length trailer for HBO Max's A Christmas Story Christmas.

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Set for release on Thursday, Nov. 17, the streaming sequel sees Peter Billingsley, now 51, reprise his role as Ralphie Parker. In the movie, Ralphie "returns to the house on Cleveland Street to deliver his kids a magical Christmas like the one he had growing up," according to the official logline. "With the same attention-to-real-life tone of the first, Ralphie reconnects with childhood friends, reconciles the passing of his Old Man and sows the seeds for the origins of the beloved holiday classic."

In addition to Billingsley, the '70s-set followup features original film stars Ian Petrella (Randy), Zack Ward (Scut Farkus), Scott Schwartz (Flick) and R.D. Robb (Schwartz). The cast also includes Erinn Hayes (Childrens Hospital, Kevin Can Wait) as Ralphie's wife, River Drosche (Miracle Workers) and Julianna Layne (Prodigal Son) as their son and daughter, and Julie Hagerty (Airplane!), who succeeds Melinda Dillon in the role of Mrs. Parker.

"There was a lot of conversation about doing a sequel much closer to when the original film came out in 1983," Billingsley recalls in an accompany statement. "And then, of course, in the early '90s... Eventually it seemed like a distant memory, like we'd never be able to do it. But here we are, Ralphie is all grown up, he has his own family, and it's an opportunity to really take what was so great from the first one and bring so much of that magic back but with a whole new perspective. You see what his dreams are, where his life is now, who his family is. In some ways, waiting this long makes it all the more special because there were so many new characters that we could bring in, and so many of the old fan favorites that we got to explore as well. Always in the back of my mind I'd hoped that this day would come."

The original Christmas Story was only a modest box office success upon its initial theatrical release. But over time, the film — about a young boy who so desperately wanted an official Red Ryder carbine action, 200-shot range model air rifle for Christmas — became a cult classic, thanks in part to TBS' annual, 24-hour marathon, which starts on Christmas Eve and ends the following night, on Dec. 25.

Scroll down to see side by sides of the Christmas Story cast then and now, then hit the comments with your reactions to the trailer.