New Line is dusting off the VACATION franchise previously branded by National Lampoon.

New Line is meeting with writers to write the script but the take is already developed: the story focuses on Rusty Griswold, the son of Clark Griswold, the protagonists of the initial movies and portrayed by Chevy Chase. The younger Griswold is now a father in his own right and takes his family on a road trip vacation.

The characters would acknowledge that first trip, making the movie more of a sequel than a reboot.
Chase and Beverly D’Angelo, who played the mom in the original movies, will have room to make appearances as grandparents, providing a sense of continuity, though no deals are in place.

[EDIT]

New Line is taking meetings with writers this week, hoping to make a movie that skews more towards “Planes Trains and Automobiles” or “Little Miss Sunshine” than “RV” or “Are We There Yet?”

..says THR HERE.

"Rusty" was played by Anthony Michael Hall in the first VACATION film, Jason Lively in EUROPEAN VACATION, Johnny Galecki in CHRISTMAS VACATION, and Ethan Embry in VEGAS VACATION. Perhaps, as an in-joke, The Powers That Be could pull an IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS & have Rusty played by multiple actors in this new film.

Wedding Crashers Director Preps National Lampoon’s Vacation Sequel

With the recent (but perhaps old?) news that Wedding Crashers director David Dobkin is officially off The Flash movie, it looks like he will potentially be returning back to the safe haven of another straight up comedy. What’s interesting is that it looks like this comedy will be a continuation of a very familiar franchise: National Lampoon’s Vacation series!

According to the Heat Vision Blog, New Line and Warner Brothers have hired Dobkin to produce and possibly direct a sequel to the classic 1983 film Vacation. The original was directed by Harold Ramis and written by John Hughes, with Chevy Chase starring as the hapless father Clark Griswold. This time around the story would focus on the next generation of the Griswolds, with Clark’s son Rusty taking his own family on a road trip. Both Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo could reprise their roles as the elder Griswolds, although they have not actually signed on as of yet.

The truth is, there isn’t even a script at this stage, and New Line is currently in search of writers for the gig. It appears that National Lampoon will not have any involvement, which is probably a good thing. Are you game for a Vacation sequel? Could this continue the “comeback” of Chevy Chase, or is it likely to be just as bad as most of the other Vacation spin-offs?