Tommy Wirkola Says Violent Night 2 Is Happening
Prep the booze and rev up that sleigh; it looks like "Violent Night" might have a sequel in the works.
"Violent Night" proved to be a box office hit in 2022, bringing in over $75 million at the global box office (via Box Office Mojo). The film features David Harbour as a hard-drinking Santa Claus who, nonetheless, does care about kids and travels the world passing out presents on Christmas Eve. But this Santa is a man of action who will do anything to ensure that good triumphs over evil. In the case of "Violent Night," that means protecting little Trudy Lightstone (Leah Brady) and her dysfunctional family against the violent group of money-hungry thieves led by a guy named Scrooge (John Leguizamo). Scrooge wants to take out Trudy's grandma, Gertrude (Beverly D'Angelo), for a fat cash reward. The film proceeds to play with Christmas-related tropes, pays knowing homage to previous Christmas films, and manages to bring Santa's adventures to a satisfying and bloody conclusion.
Tommy Wirkola, who directed "Violent Night," has apparently been greenlit for a sequel — and he's already got solid plans for what's next on Santa's agenda.
The sequel is set to lean heavily into Santa's mythology
According to an interview with Tommy Wirkola in January 2023, negotiations are underway for a second installment to Santa Claus' adventures (via The Wrap). "We're talking about it and we're just making deals and getting everything in order," Wirkola said.
What will the sequel deal with? Per Wirkola, he and the first film's writers — Pat Casey and Josh Miller – are going to take their time to figure things out. The film was first pitched as "Die Hard with Santa Claus," yet around that simple notion, a rich backstory for Old Saint Nick developed, much of it involving plot twists connected to Santa's magic. Apparently, they're apparently planning on taking a deeper look at the narrative threads the first film left, including Kris Kringle's blood-soaked backstory. "There's stuff we left on the floor like the North Pole, Mrs. Claus, the elves," Wirkola said.
But the word of the day appears to be "worldbuilding." "[S]tory-wise, I think we have a really, really cool idea that expands on the world and scope, but still keeping that tone that we love from the first one."
It appears that audiences might have a while to wait for the potential franchise's next installment, but — as Santa himself might say — good things happen to good kids who wait.