Ho ho ho! David Harbour will officially don the big beard and iconic Santa Claus outfit again for Violent Night 2. A sequel was previously confirmed to be in development, but in honor of this holiday season, Harbour took to his Instagram to share a new post in which he's shown holding a script for the new film.
The actor's post shows him sitting in a cozy display with another Santa Claus, and if you look at what Harbour's holding, you can see the title page of the Violent Night 2 script.
The first movie was released in 2022 and performed well as a mid-budget Christmas action flick featuring Santa Claus beating up a bunch of bad guys, making more than $75 million at the global box office and generating decent reviews from critics. Unlike previous versions of Santa Claus we've seen, Harbour's version of the character is from a line of ancient Viking warriors, making him well-equipped to handle a band of mercenaries that crash a family's Christmas gathering and take them hostage.
In January 2023, The Wrap spoke with director Tommy Wirkola who confirmed their plans for a sequel. At the time, he said they weren't ready to shoot just yet but were working on getting everything together and bringing back the first movie's writers, Pat Casey and Josh Miller.
The biggest hurdle to getting the Violent Night movie going has been juggling everyone's schedules as Harbour notably has been particularly busy between filming the final seasons of Stranger Things and Marvel's Thunderbolts movie.
No plot details have been revealed for the sequel just yet. It's unlikely anyone will return from the first movie since Santa made quick work of the mercenaries.
Back in 2022, before Violent Night was released in theaters, Harbour suggested an idea for the sequel that involved bringing in Charlize Theron as Mrs. Claus. Who knows? Maybe it will happen. We did see Santa receive a note from his wife in the first movie!
If you'd like to revisit Violent Night, the film is currently streaming on Starz and available to rent/buy from digital retailers.