The Violent Night 2 writers assure fans that they know what people want to see in the “action hero Santa Claus” sequel
Two years ago, Universal Pictures teamed with producers David Leitch and Kelly McCormick of 87North Productions and director Tommy Wirkola to bring us the highly entertaining, R-rated holiday thriller Violent Night (read our 8/10 review at THIS LINK)… and now, Violent Night 2 appears to be heading toward production. Star David Harbour was spotted with the script in his hand earlier this month, and during an interview with Collider, screenwriters Patrick Casey and Josh Miller assured that they know what fans are hoping to see in the sequel.
While Casey and Miller have stayed busy in recent years by writing each film in the Sonic the Hedgehog trilogy, they have taken the occasional break from scripting Sonic action to write about Santa Claus taking on bad guys. Violent Night showed what happens when a team of elite mercenaries breaks into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve, taking everyone inside hostage. But the team isn’t prepared for a surprise combatant: Santa Claus is on the grounds, and he’s about to show why this Nick is no saint.
Miller told Collider, “The Violent Night movies are not as big budget as the Sonic movies, but we still want this one to feel bigger than the first one. And you don’t want Santa just trapped in a mansion again.” Casey added, “Santa’s gonna take his shirt off even more in this one. We know what the people want. We know people are hungry for more of his Viking backstory. David is especially excited about that stuff.“
Miller also told Syfy Wire, “The first one obviously lived in a Die Hard space. We can’t tease too much (about Violent Night 2), other than we’re trying to bring in a little Western influence.” Casey mentioned that they have thought about giving the sequel the subtitle Massacre on 34th Street.
Harbour, who described Violent Night as “a hardcore Christmas action movie,” was joined in the cast of the first film by John Leguizamo (Land of the Dead), Beverly D’Angelo (National Lampoon’s Vacation), Alexis Louder (Copshop), Cam Gigandet (Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse), André Eriksen (Norsemen), Edi Patterson (The Righteous Gemstones), and newcomer Alex Haskell.
There’s no word on when Violent Night 2 might begin filming. There has been a lot of talk about Mrs. Claus needing to be brought into the action for the sequel, with Charlize Theron and Noomi Rapace being mentioned as contenders for the role, but we don’t know if that’s going to happen. Harbour told CinemaBlend, “My dream, she’ll never do it, but my dream would be Charlize Theron. I feel like she’s such a badass, I remember her in those (Atomic Blonde) fight scenes being so incredible. That would be my dream casting, but whoever plays it, if it happens, is going to be wonderful.“
Are you looking forward to Violent Night 2, and do you think it should be called Violent Night 2: Massacre on 34th Street? Who would you like to see play Mrs. Claus in the sequel? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
