The Best Christmas Movie In Years Is Officially Getting A Sequel
Violent Night 2 is coming with David Harbour returning to the character of Santa Claus
You better watch out, because Santa Claus is coming back to town. According to The Wrap, Violent Night 2 is currently in development at Universal Pictures. Director Tommy Wirkola confirmed the sequel was happening, saying, “We’re just making deals and getting everything in order.”
The first movie was a bonified sleeper hit, grossing $75 million worldwide on a budget of $25 million. Labeled as being half The Santa Claus and half Die Hard, Violent Night was a winner with critics and viewers alike. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the savage Christmas flick is certified fresh with a score of 73% from reviews by 199 critics.
Wirkola revealed that writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller will return to pen the script for Violent Night 2, and the trio is currently tossing around story ideas. The first film centers on a team of mercenaries who break into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve and take everyone inside hostage. Unbeknownst to them, Santa Claus is on the grounds, and he’s about to show them why this Nick is no saint.
According to Wirkola, there were plenty of ideas left on the floor during the making of the first movie. The director told The Wrap that he, Casey, and Miller have zeroed in on a great idea for Violent Night 2. Not only will it broaden the scope, but it will maintain the tone that viewers love from its predecessor.
The director went on to explain that they have plenty of time to decide the direction they want to go with the sequel. In other words, there’s absolutely no rush to get Violent Night 2 in front of audiences. Of course, it would come as no surprise if David Harbour’s busy upcoming filming schedule is the primary reason Wirkola and gang aren’t leaping into production on the follow-up.
The 47-year-old actor absolutely owned the screen as the film’s badass Santa Claus, and it’s hard to imagine Violent Night 2 without him. Currently, Harbour is preparing to film the fifth and final season of Stranger Things for Netflix as well as Thunderbolts for Marvel. The latter will see him reprise his role as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian from 2021’s Black Widow.
Tommy Wirkola also has quite a bit on his plate at the moment. In addition to developing Violent Night 2, the award-winning filmmaker is hard at work on a slew of other projects. He’s set to direct the animated musical Spermageddon as well as Deathrow-mance, which centers on a British media executive who hastily marries an American death row inmate as a loophole to avoid being deported and losing a huge buyout for her company.
While you wait in anticipation for Violent Night 2, the first film is currently streaming exclusively on Peacock. Along with David Harbour, the brutal holiday flick stars John Leguizamo, Beverly D’Angelo, Alex Hassell, Alexis Louder, Edi Patterson, Cam Gigandet, Leah Brady, Alexander Elliott, Mitra Suri, and Brendan Fletcher. The movie was directed by Tommy Wirkola from a script by Pat Casey and Josh Miller.
