Family Stone Sequel Is in the Works as Writer Says He Wants to ‘Honor’ Diane Keaton After Her Death

The late Diane Keaton is reportedly getting a sequel to one of her most beloved movies. 

Thomas Bezucha, writer and director of the 2005 holiday comedy The Family Stone, told CNN in a recent interview that he’s working on a follow-up. The Christmas classic starred Keaton as Sybil Stone, matriarch of the titular family, whose breast cancer diagnosis shakes up their reunion. 

“I’ve been haunted by the loss of Sybil for months now while I worked on it, and so this was a blow on a tender bruise already,” Bezucha, 61, said. “Mentally, I’ve been spending time in that house where I’ve been missing her for a while already.”

A perennial holiday favorite, The Family Stone was distributed by 20th Century Fox. A rep for Disney, which has since acquired that studio, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. 

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

Keaton died on Oct. 11 at age 79 after a bacterial pneumonia infection, per a death certificate. “The Keaton family are very grateful for the extraordinary messages of love and support they have received these past few days on behalf of their beloved Diane,” read a statement from her family.

The news of the Oscar winner’s passing made it all the more important for Bezucha, he told CNN, to do justice to her memorable work in The Family Stone. With his sequel, he said he wanted to “do a good job by the rest of the cast” and “honor [Keaton] even more.” 

The movie costarred Sarah Jessica Parker, Dermot Mulroney, Luke Wilson, Claire Danes, Rachel McAdams, Elizabeth Reaser, Craig T. Nelson and more. Bezucha indicated he’s been toying with a sequel for a while, but would only be interested in completing a script if the original’s principal cast was on board. “I’m not interested in the Brady family reunion without the original Jan,” he said.

Per CNN, the original cast gave “unanimously positive responses” to the filmmaker reaching out about a sequel. “No one has officially signed on and the film has not yet been officially greenlit, but cast members have acknowledged the project.”

Keaton is survived by two children, daughter Dexter and son Duke.