The “Violent Night 2” trailer has arrived, and the bloody holiday action comedy is throwing Santa Claus (David Harbour) for quite a loop this time. Somehow, despite taking care of some seriously bad guys in the first “Violent Night” movie (which is even making waves on Netflix during summer), Santa has found himself on the naughty list. That raises all sorts of questions about who controls Santa’s mythical list, when most people probably thought it was Santa Claus himself. But perhaps the biggest issue is that this leaves Santa Claus without his magical powers, and that’s going to make dealing with Jared Harris (“Chernobyl”) and a whole new gang of criminals quite difficult.
Thankfully, Santa is getting some help from his wife, Mrs. Claus, played by the endlessly spunky and always superb Kristen Bell. It’s kinda perfect that Kristen Bell is stepping back into winter territory after starring in “Frozen,” one of Disney’s biggest animated hits, but this time she’s doing it with a big sword and so much more blood.
However, when the first “Violent Night” was in production, Mrs. Claus almost had an earlier introduction that would have changed the entire face of “Violent Night 2.” Speaking with /Film ahead of the trailer launch, producer Kelly McCormick, who is David Leitch’s producing partner at 87th North (as well as the filmmaker’s wife), revealed that they kinda got in their own way when it came to the potential introduction of Mrs. Claus in “Violent Night,” but it couldn’t have worked out any better.
‘We almost put a button in the back of ‘Violent Night’ with Mrs. Claus’
Kristen Bell looks like she fits perfectly in “Violent Night 2” as a strong Mrs. Claus who is just as resilient a warrior as her husband. But that character’s trajectory was almost much different.
As Kelly McCormick informed us, the first “Violent Night” wouldn’t have put Bell in the role, and it would have drastically changed the sequel:
“We almost put a button in the back of ‘Violent Night’ with Mrs. Claus. If we would’ve done that, she would’ve been somebody totally different in this one, and it would’ve been a different movie, if she was already introduced. So it was really hard. To be honest, we overthought it to the point where we never made an offer for the role of Mrs. Claus.”
That means we won’t hear about who might have played the original role, because they didn’t have anyone locked down. That sounds like fate or some old-fashioned Christmas magic coming together to allow Kristen Bell to join “Violent Night 2.”
For McCormick’s part, she didn’t think they would be able to get Bell to sign on. The producer said, “Just kind of through divine intervention, Kristen just sort of appeared. A lot of it was because David Harbour and she have a long friendship, and I am obsessed with her. I was like, ‘Oh my God, we’ll never get her. Are you kidding? She’s busy and she’s amazing.’ And I don’t even know. That’s like Christmas happening for the movie if we get Kristen.'”
But her Christmas wish came true. “She’s just honestly perfect,” McCormick added. “What she does as a character is this very loving sort of push toward Santa understanding how to get back on the nice list and also kicking major ass. Having the permission to do that because she’s just Kristen Bell as Mrs. Claus, she’s just that cool.”
“Violent Night 2” hits theaters on December 4, 2026, just in time for the holidays.
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