It's A Wonderful Life to get sequel almost 70 years after original

The timeless festive film is to be remade with a Dickensian storyline twist

What a cracker: James Stewart in Frank Capra's 'It's A Wonderful Life'

Frank Capra's timeless Christmas film It's A Wonderful Life is to get a sequel almost 70 years after the original was first released in cinemas.

The new film, called It's A Wonderful Life: The Rest Of The Story, will centre around bank manager George Bailey's grandson.

James Stewart's kind-hearted but depressed Bailey found enlightenment in the first 1946 film, but the new character will be more like Scrooge from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, according to Variety.

Now an angel, original cast member Karolyn Grimes will return to play Aunt Zuzu, Bailey's daughter, who visits her mean ancestor to show him how much better off the world would have been without him in a reversal of the traditional storyline.

The new film will be produced by Allen J Schwalb, from the production company who made Rain Man and The Color Purple, while Bob Farnsworth has penned the screenplay.

"It's A Wonderful Life is about showing a good guy can win and with Scrooge you have a person that is not a good guy but he changes," Farnsworth told The Hollywood Reporter. "This story is about the amazing human capacity to forgive when we see someone change for the better."

It's A Wonderful Life: The Rest Of The Story has been tipped for a 2015 release, with a director yet to be chosen.

In the American classic, Bailey is a troubled family man left contemplating imminent suicide on Christmas Eve after deciding that his loved ones would be better off without him.

His family's prayers encourage guardian angel Clarence Odbody to visit Bailey and show him how much worse life would have been for others had he never been born.

"Look, no one can make another It's A Wonderful Life," Farnsworth said. "But our story is solid and we are going in with our eyes open."

"There is no doubt about it, there will be a ruckus. But I have this motto: All it takes to be a leader is to have a cause you believe in. The stronger you believe in this cause, the more adversaries you will have. And we strongly believe in this."