Home Alone 3: Kevin’s Revenge – A Classic Trapped in a New Era

More than three decades after Home Alone (1990) became a holiday staple, and over 30 years since Kevin McCallister first outwitted the Wet Bandits with nothing but string, paint cans, and psychotic creativity, the booby-trap legend is back.

In this imagined modern sequel, Home Alone 3: Kevin’s Revenge, Macaulay Culkin returns as an adult Kevin—now older, wealthier, and much more dangerous. But don’t worry—he hasn’t changed that much. He’s still a kid at heart... just one with smarter traps, a security system powered by AI, and maybe a bit of repressed trauma.

In this fictional take, Kevin McCallister is now a cybersecurity genius and the founder of a tech company that designs ultra-smart home defense systems—because who better to secure your house than someone who once defended it with an iron and a tarantula?

Now living in a sleek Chicago mansion filled with gadgets and gizmos, Kevin has grown reclusive and paranoid. But when a trio of high-tech burglars—modern cybercriminals who target wealthy homes using hacked smart devices—choose Kevin’s mansion as their next heist, they have no idea what they’re walking into.

Unlike previous sequels (Home Alone 3 from 1997 and other straight-to-video releases), this imagined film stays true to the spirit of the original two. It blends slapstick comedy with a surprising emotional undercurrent—and just a hint of thriller.

• Comedy: Kevin’s traps are still wild and hilarious, but they now involve smart fridges, fake deepfakes, automated drones, and holographic distractions. Think Saw meets Home Depot—in a PG-13 way.

• Heart: Kevin isn’t just defending his home for fun anymore. He’s battling isolation, unresolved trauma from being left alone as a child, and a growing belief that he can only trust himself. That emotional arc grounds the chaos in something real.

• Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister – He plays it cool and detached, with flashes of that old mischief in his eyes. He's a loner now, but the film shows his journey back toward connection—especially after reuniting with his estranged family.

• Catherine O’Hara as Kate McCallister – Kevin’s mother returns, older, wiser, and full of regret. She tries to make amends with her son, who still hasn't quite forgiven her for leaving him—twice.

• Daniel Stern as Marv – Yep. One of the original Wet Bandits is back. Now a washed-up podcaster who once tried to write a book about “the kid that ruined my life,” Marv gets pulled into the new burglars’ plan as a “consultant.”

• Joe Pesci as Harry (cameo) – Rumored to be in prison, Harry makes a brief appearance in a news segment warning people not to mess with Kevin McCallister.

The main antagonists are a team of slick cyber-burglars:

• Lena (played by Ana de Armas in this version) – A cold, professional hacker who believes in clean, quiet jobs… until Kevin turns the tables.

• Briggs – A musclebound ex-con who thinks breaking into houses is still about brute force.

• TJ – A former child actor turned TikTok thief. Yes, he tries to livestream the break-in. Yes, it goes horribly wrong.

Together, they think they’re outsmarting an old, lonely tech nerd. What they don’t know is they’re entering the McCallister Maze—a smart home rigged to confuse, trap, and humiliate.

While there are plenty of nostalgic nods—paint cans, marbles, and even a flaming doorknob—this new film reimagines Kevin’s traps for a modern world.

Highlights include:

• A hacked Roomba that sprays glue and glitter.

• Holograms that confuse intruders by projecting false hallways.

• A smart speaker that plays Marv’s own podcast back at him—at full volume.

• A fake “panic room” that becomes a literal panic room (walls close in, fake snakes fall from the ceiling).

And yes, someone slips on ice.

After hilariously outsmarting the burglars (and causing one to fall into his koi pond full of robotic piranhas), Kevin reflects on how far he’s come—and how much he’s isolated himself.

The movie ends not with Kevin laughing over a defeated thief, but finally joining his family for Christmas dinner—proving that even the most independent kids sometimes just need a hug from Mom.

Cue “Somewhere in My Memory.”

This imagined Home Alone 3: Kevin’s Revenge proves that revisiting a classic doesn’t have to mean lazy reboots or gimmicky kid recasting. With the return of the original cast, a thoughtful update on its themes, and the same spirit of inventiveness and family, this would be the sequel fans didn’t know they needed.