Macaulay Culkin's Home Alone 3 Pitch Actually Sounds Like It Could Be Kinda Good

If there's one thing that's going to get everyone interested in "Home Alone" movies again, it's the return of Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister. Thus far, such a thing has seemed like a distant fantasy for everybody who grew up with the first two movies, and while it still seems unlikely, Culkin himself has a surprisingly good pitch for how his most beloved character might come back. Essentially, the actor's vision of a proper "Home Alone 3" would follow Kevin McCallister as a single dad who ends up locked out of his own house by his kid and has to fight his way through a series of traps to get back inside and earn his way back into his son's good graces. As much as this property has rinsed for all it's worth, I think it's fair to say we'd all watch that.

If you grew up with this franchise, chances are you can name the first two films and probably vaguely remember the time it switched Macaulay Culkin out for that kid with one of the most magnificent bowl cuts you've ever seen. But the saga actually extends way beyond 1990's "Home Alone," its 1992 sequel, "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York," and 1997's "Home Alone 3." There was also the standalone sequel "Home Alone 4" in 2002, followed by "Home Alone: The Holiday Heist" in 2012, and, most recently, the 2021 Disney+ movie "Home Sweet Home Alone."

Unfortunately, the "Home Alone" movies are mostly bad. That is to say that once Culkin left the franchise, the whole thing declined rapidly. When "Home Sweet Home Alone" failed to bring back Kevin McCallister, the once great saga seemed doomed to continue its long decline. But there may be a glimmer of hope in Culkin's own vision for Kevin's return.

It's not hard to understand why Macaulay Culkin hasn't returned to the "Home Alone" franchise — and not only because he got bitten for real by Joe Pesci in the first movie and has the scar to prove it. The actor has spoken extensively about how his father was physically and mentally abusive during his childhood, most recently in the documentary "John Candy: I Like Me." According to Culkin, things only got worse in the wake of his "Home Alone" fame, and as such, it must be a very difficult part of his life to think about. But he does seem to have thought about it enough to come up with a solid pitch for the return of Kevin McCallister.

During his "A Nostalgic Night With Macaulay Culkin" tour (via Entertainment Weekly) the actor said he "wouldn't be completely allergic" to reprising the role. "It would have to be just right," he added, before going on to reveal his own idea for what such a movie might be about. "I'm either a widower or a divorcee," he explained. "I'm raising a kid and all that stuff. I'm working really hard, and I'm not really paying enough attention, and the kid is kind of getting miffed at me, and then I get locked out." The actor went on to explain how Kevin's son would be the one setting traps for his dad, who, like the wet bandits before him, would have to navigate the contraptions in order to get back inside and reconnect with his son. "The house is some sort of metaphor for our relationship," he added, "[a way to] 'get let back into his heart' kind of deal."

Macaulay Culkin's idea for a "Home Alone" movie gets better the more you think about it. Firstly, having an adult Kevin navigate a series of traps would be a simple but effective way to refresh the robbers vs. kid dynamic. Second, the whole thing being a metaphor for Kevin getting closer to his son also works as a metaphor for Culkin getting closer to his younger self and perhaps healing his inner child — in a movie where he's literally returning to the franchise that made him a child star. It's perfect. What's more, it would retcon the property so that we finally get a proper "Home Alone 3" that disregards those shoddy sequels (though the bowl cut kid did a pretty decent job, so maybe he can get a cameo or something).

Unfortunately, a good idea doesn't mean we're actually going to get a Culkin-led "Home Alone 3." Director Chris Columbus, who oversaw the first two movies, has stated plainly that he doesn't think returning to the franchise is a good idea, telling Entertainment Tonight in 2025, "It was a very special moment, and you can't really recapture that. I think it's a mistake to try to go back and try to recapture something we did 35 years ago. I think it should be left alone."

That's fair. God knows we don't need any more beloved IP being put through the wringer as part of some cynical nostalgia play. But there is the argument that the "Home Alone" property always felt like it deserved better than what it got in terms of sequels. Every single follow-up after "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" was essentially a sequel that didn't need to happen. Culkin's idea feels like the opposite.