O.K., let’s back-up for a second. Perhaps it’s not fair to call the just-announced It’s a Wonderful Life 2 “misguided.” Who knows, it might wind up being great! But I needed to fit the “angel gets his wings” line in somehow…

Anyway, yes, Variety is reporting that a sequel to the perennial Christmas classic is in the works called It’s A Wonderful Life: The Rest of the Story. The film does not appear to have a studio attachment at the moment.“Karolyn Grimes, who played George Bailey’s daughter ‘Zuzu’ in the original, will return for the Wonderful Life sequel as an angel who shows Bailey’s unlikeable grandson (also named George Bailey) how much better off the world would have been had he never been born,” explains Variety. I wonder how little Zuzu bought the farm between movies?The producers are also talking to Jimmy Hawkins, who played Tommy Bailey, and Carol Coombs, who played Janie Bailey, about returning for the sequel. Which makes this feel like one of those Star Trek fan series where they trot a guest actor from TOS out of the Hollywood retirement home.Interestingly, the original 1946 Frank Capra film, which starred Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed, was not an insta-classic by any means. It wasn’t until it became a staple of local TV broadcasts during the holiday season in the 1970s and ’80s that it truly earned its current reputation. Maybe It’s A Wonderful Life: The Rest of the Story (I guess the “A” is capitalized) will get lucky too.

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