Disney reportedly sets sights on a legacy sequel to The Parent Trap

Here we go again: nostalgia’s become so baked into the film industry, you can barely move for blockbusters milking old favourites for all they’re worth. Legacy sequels – those belated follow-ups that try to please both the fans who grew up on the original and their descendants – are everywhere. Disney’s especially partial to this particular cash cow, with the latest in their conveyor belt of 'remember when…?' offerings apparently involving one of their classic '90s family comedies. Yep, word is The Parent Trap is getting a sequel, nearly 30 years after Lindsay Lohan first found out she had a secret twin and did her own accent work for an entire film.

Legacy Sequels: Disney's Not-So-Secret Weapon

If you’ve been paying remotely close attention, you’ll have clocked that Disney hit gold recently with Freakier Friday – the 2025 follow-up to their beloved 2003 body-swap film. Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan both returned, box office receipts hit $153 million worldwide (on a $45 million budget, mind), and fans lapped up the nostalgia. Pretty much the dream scenario for any exec, so it’s hardly surprising the Mouse House wants to rinse and repeat the formula.

Elsewhere, the legacy sequel parade continues: Top Gun: Maverick, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, even Happy Gilmore 2 on Netflix – clearly, the appetite is there. Now, someone high up has decided that The Parent Trap is ripe for the same treatment.

A Parent Trap Sequel – No, Seriously

Rumblings about The Parent Trap 2 emerged when Lisa Ann Walter (who played the ever-loyal housekeeper Chessy in the 1998 film) casually let the cat out of the bag during an interview with Howard Stern. She describes the discovery as a bit of a surprise, even by Hollywood standards:

'The way I found out about it is I went to the premiere of Freakier Friday, and Lindsay [Lohan] was in it. And they came up to me and said, 'So, did your people talk to you yet?' And I’m like, 'About what?' And they were like, 'You’re gonna, you know, get the offer to reprise Chessy in Parent Trap 2.' And I was like, 'No, nobody’s talked to me. What are you talking about?' And they were like, 'Oh, yeah, we’re working on it.' So, I have no idea. I don’t know if they’ll do it or not.'

To translate: Disney hasn’t made anything official, and even the actors are barely clued in – but something is clearly moving behind the scenes. The story came out thanks to a post on X (formerly Twitter), which saw over 6,000 likes and 1,200 reposts, with everyone apparently having Strong Opinions about whether the original even needs a sequel.

Nostalgia, Numbers and Nerves

Lisa Ann Walter for one sounds keen, and she’s hinted before that Lindsay Lohan is also up for a return, telling People that Lohan 'may have already' called Disney about reprising her iconic twin role. (For context: in the original, Lohan played both Hallie and Annie – identical sisters split between California and London, only meeting after being dispatched to the same summer camp, where they hatch a plan to reunite their estranged parents. The whole thing is a masterclass in late-90s kids’ movie hijinks.)

In classic Disney style, the groundwork’s all there for a new angle: Lohan turns 40 tomorrow (2 July), so any continuation would presumably focus on the now-adult twins – which is bound to raise a few eyebrows among the purists. A trickier topic: Natasha Richardson, who played mum Elizabeth, passed away in 2009, so the filmmakers will have to figure out how (or whether) to address her absence. Some fans on X have made it clear they’re sceptical, with one blunt assessment: 'There is no Parent Trap without Natasha Richardson. This is such a cash grab.'

A Quick Recap: The Parent Trap’s Backstory

• The 1998 film was itself a remake of Disney’s 1961 original (which even spawned three made-for-TV sequels).
• Both versions are based on Erich Kästner’s 1949 novel 'Lisa and Lottie' (or 'Das doppelte Lottchen' if we’re getting technical).
• The Lindsay Lohan version made a hefty $92.1 million at the global box office – that’s £73 million or so back then, about $184 million in today’s money, for the inflation nerds keeping score.
• Critical reception? Strong: 87% "Fresh" from Rotten Tomatoes and plenty of repeat viewings (don’t pretend you haven’t caught it on TV at Christmas).

Nearly three decades on, Disney seems ready to see if lightning strikes twice. So far, there’s no script, no official announcement, and not even confirmation that the main cast (bar Walter’s enthusiastic ‘maybe’) are back. But the studio is clearly thinking about getting the Hallie-and-Annie band back together.