Thirty-seven years after E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial grossed millions at the box office and became one of the most beloved movies of all time, the stars have reunited for a sweet Xfinity holiday commercial. In the ad, E.T. has come back to Earth to visit Elliott, played by Henry Thomas, who now has his own family.
Thomas was just 11 years old when he starred in the 1982 film, but now he is all grown up with a wife and two kids. The ad begins with the kids playing out in the snow as the Christmas lights start to flicker.
Inside, Elliott notices the lights and is concerned about what’s going on. And, eventually the kids notice E.T. standing behind a snowman. When Elliott runs outside and sees his childhood friend, he’s thrilled.
“You came back!” exclaims Elliott, who then introduces the extra-terrestrial to his wife, daughter, and son.
During E.T.’s visit, Elliott explains that a lot has changed on Earth since the last time he was there. The kids then proceed to introduce E.T. to the mind-blowing internet, cupcakes topped with Reese’s Pieces, virtual reality games, and holiday movies.
Soon, E.T. tells Elliott that he has his own family, and he needs to return home, and he finds Elliott’s old bike to recreate the iconic scene from the movie. Only this time Elliott’s two kids are flying through the air on their bikes as E.T. rides in a basket.
This just hit me right in the childhood feels and it's awesome that the actor who played Elliot in E.T. came back to play an older Elliot https://t.co/9ZvAvK5Up5
— UzamakiJ (@UzamakiJ) November 29, 2019
“The audience is going to get everything they want out of a sequel without the messy bits that could destroy the beauty of the original and the special place it has in people’s minds and hearts. It’s really a win-win,” Thomas said in a statement to Us Weekly.
Thomas said that he could see from the storyboards that Steven Spielberg was behind the commercial because the integrity of the original story wasn’t lost in this retelling.
Commercial director Lance Acord says that the whole story is about family, just like the original film. And, it ends with a reminder to viewers to “reconnect for the holidays.”
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Comcast and Xfinity aired a special showing of E.T. on Thanksgiving Day, and the movie is also available on-demand to their customers.
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