The first Violent Night saw Santa Claus kicking ass to save a family. For its sequel, he’ll have to save himself, and he’ll do so in a place that is truly synonymous with modern Christmas: a shopping mall.
Four years after we got the first Die Hard-inspired Santa Claus film starring David Harbour, Santa is back. This time, though, he’s dealing with the repercussions of that previous, ahem, “violent night.” Somehow, Santa himself has been put on the Naughty list and will now be forced to figure out the meaning of Christmas at a local mall. There, he’ll have to take down goons led by an evil gangster (Jared Harris) along with the help of his wife, Mrs. Claus (Kristen Bell). No, we aren’t quite sure how that all fits together either. But, for now, here’s the trailer for Violent Night 2.
We loved the first Violent Night, and this certainly looks like a worthy follow-up. And yet, we have questions. Doesn’t Santa control the Naughty and Nice lists? Did someone hack him? Also, why are we at this mall, and why does Jared Harris’ character want to kill Santa in this mall? Clearly, these are all questions the film will answer, but the trailer is more than a little confusing from a narrative standpoint.
And yet, that probably won’t matter. Violent Night 2 looks like it will deliver many, many Christmas-themed kills and lots of action, which is basically all we want. We just hope that it eventually gets back to that heartwarming, spirit of Christmas vibe that makes films like this live forever.
In addition to Harbour, Bell and Harris, Violent Night 2 co-stars Joe Pantoliano (The Matrix, The Sopranos), Daniela Melchior (Fast X, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3), Andrew Bachelor (Greenland, The Walking Dead), and, yes, that’s AEW professional wrestler MJF in there too. It’s once again directed by Tommy Wirkola and opens December 4.
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