Macaulay Culkin Weighs In On Returning To 'Home Alone' Franchise

Macaulay Culkin is finally speaking out about the possibility of returning to one of the most iconic roles in holiday movie history. The 46-year-old actor, best known for playing Kevin McCallister in the blockbuster "Home Alone" films, surprised fans at his Nostalgic Night event over the weekend when he opened up about whether he’d ever reprise the character that made him a global sensation. More than three decades after "Home Alone" and "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" shattered box-office records and became annual Christmas staples, fans have never stopped asking whether Culkin might one day slip back into Kevin’s shoes. Now, after years of staying quiet on the subject, the former child star is acknowledging the possibility, but with some significant caveats.

During his Nostalgic Night event on Saturday, the 46-year-old actor admitted he’s open to reprising his beloved role as Kevin McCallister in another "Home Alone" sequel. But it would have to meet a very high bar. “It would have to be just right,” he teased, acknowledging that, decades later, fans still want to see him booby-trapping a house again.

It’s been 35 years since Culkin first played the mischievous 8-year-old defending his home from burglars in the 1990 blockbuster "Home Alone," followed by "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York." Combined, the two classics pulled in a massive $835.7 million at the box office and became instant holiday staples.

Culkin revealed he’s actually developed a concept that would bring Kevin back in a way that feels true to adulthood while honoring the original films. In his envisioned sequel, Kevin isn’t the one doing the locking out. He’s the one locked out. “I'm either a widower or a divorcé. I'm raising a kid…I'm working really hard, and I'm not paying enough attention, and the kid is getting miffed at me, and then I get locked out,” Culkin explained.

From there, the roles reverse. “He won’t let me in. He’s the one setting traps for me," Culkin added. "The house is some sort of metaphor for our relationship. ‘Get let back into his heart’ kind of deal.”

He finished the pitch by saying, “I’m not completely allergic to it…the right thing.”

While the rest of the world knows Culkin as Kevin McCallister, his own children have no idea. The actor shares two sons, Dakota, 4, and Carson, 3, with fiancée Brenda Song. And according to Culkin, they don’t know their dad is one of the most famous holiday characters ever. He says he and Song plan “to keep up that illusion as long as possible.”

However, Culkin admitted his eldest is already beginning to connect the dots, recalling a moment at bedtime when his son “started asking questions about my siblings.”

Earlier this month, Culkin briefly stepped back into the character for the “Home But Not Alone” holiday campaign for Home Instead, playing an adult Kevin concerned about his aging mother, Kate. But while Culkin seems willing to revisit the character under the right circumstances, the film’s original director isn’t convinced another sequel should happen.

Chris Columbus, who helmed the first two films, said in August that trying to recapture that lightning in a bottle would be a mistake. “You can’t really recapture that…I think it should be left alone,” he told ET, calling the original films a “very special moment.”

Whether or not Kevin McCallister ever returns to the big screen, Macaulay Culkin seems at peace. But if the right "Home Alone" story ever comes along, fans now know he’s at least willing to pick up the paint cans and Christmas ornaments one more time.