If you’re nice, you get presents from the Big Guy. If you’re naughty, you get justice.
David Harbour reprises his role as Santa Claus in Violent Night 2, a propulsive new chapter in yuletide mayhem from 87North, produced again by 87North founders Kelly McCormick and David Leitch —the powerhouse producers of Bullet Train, John Wick, The Fall Guy, Atomic Blonde and the Nobody franchise—and returning action director Tommy Wirkola.
In 2022’s bare-knuckle holiday sensation, Violent Night, an embittered Santa, armed with lethal combat skills, took out a team of mercenaries to rescue a girl and her family. Now, not-so-jolly Saint Nick suits up again to take on a ruthless gangster (Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Jared Harris) terrorizing the merchants of the Silver Bell Mall.
But when Santa forgets the true meaning of Christmas, he finds himself in the heart of a lively mall community in desperate need of his help. Sapped of his magic, he’ll need another way to take on the goons threatening the mall, and time is running out. Santa has to rediscover his faith in goodness and call in some last-minute reinforcements from the one person no baddie wants to tangle with: Mrs. Claus (Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Kristen Bell).
Along with David Harbour, Jared Harris and Kristen Bell, the dynamic cast includes Emmy winning screen legend Joe Pantoliano (The Last of Us, The Sopranos), Daniela Melchior (Fast X, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3), Andrew Bachelor (Greenland, The Walking Dead), and AEW professional wrestler Maxwell Friedman (The Iron Claw, Happy Gilmore 2).
To celebrate the launch of Violent Night 2‘s first trailer, Nick L’Barrow spoke with producer Kelly McCormick about how the action has evolved from the first film, exploring more of Santa’s backstory, and what action scene she read on the page that she couldn’t believe they pulled off in this movie.
Nick: Kelly, I’m a huge fan of what you, David and the team at 87North do in the action genre!
Kelly McCormick: Thank you so much!
Nick: And Violent Night is in our yearly Christmas movie rotation at home now! So I’m excited to see what you have coming in the sequel. And I’m curious to know what you found worked so well about the first film? And what were you then excited to explore and expand on this time around?
KM: I think what worked is that Christmas means something different to everyone. But there are just great Christmas classics. And our goal was to make another one. I think the Violent Night franchise stands out because it’s subversive, but it’s still very deeply rooted in Christmas, right? It’s got the core elements of the best Christmas stories. It’s got hope. It’s got joy. It’s got a real connection. It just so happens to be amongst this ridiculous action. And I mean, that kind of works with the frustrations of being with family at Christmas time [laughs]. Like, sometimes, you just imagine how lethal any given Christmas decoration can be while you’re munching on your crumpets [laughs]. It’s complicated, right? So I think these movies are this joyride that allows you to have a really fun time.
Nick: Obviously you guys are no stranger to action. So what were the conversations like with Tommy [Wirkola, director] and the team in evolving the action for this sequel?
KM: Well, we decided to take the story out of the home and place it into a mall, because that is an essential aspect of Christmas. But the mall is also criticised for the consumerism of Christmas as well. Plus, there are obviously bigger, wilder, fantastical Christmas decorations in a mall every year, and what trouble could you get into if they were weaponised? I mean, that alone works. But I think it works because there is an emotional underpinning, a heart, hope, at the core that fuels the action. Santa is able to meet more people going through various experiences. So, it’s not even just the action that’s bigger, but there’s a general energy that’s bigger all around.
Nick: Has there ever been a stunt or set piece that you’ve read on the page – whether it was for a Violent Night film or other 87North films – and you had no idea how you were going to pull it off, but were able to just through sheer tenacity and movie magic?
KM: I mean, we have a tendency to grab the action as it is written and use that as a blueprint. Then we redesign or recreate an environment for the action. I think it’s one of the things that is unique about what we do – we’re not looking for action on the page, but more so are looking for the suggestion of action on the page, and how we can amplify it and improve it in real life with our stunt teams. Especially with our original movies that we’re developing from the get go, we almost put placeholders in there, and then you get writers like Pat [Casey] and Josh [Miller] who are really great at coming up with action gags. They were actually a really big part of the moviemaking experience with this film. They were coming up with the craziest ideas to help us along the way. Actually one of the sequences in the trailer, the “bake-off” type sequence, is one of those examples. And that is an absolute crowd pleaser. It was great on the page, and we were kind of like, “How are we going to do that?” But, literally, we were kids in a candy shop for that scene!
Nick: I loved John Leguizamo’s take as the villain in the first film. And now you have the incredible Jared Harris in the villain role this time around. How did he become involved with the film?
KM: I don’t know how we got him! We were so lucky to get him, to be honest. He is so talented. I don’t know him to play a lot of villains. But, he’s a very thoughtful, intensely smart actor, and you can see how clever all of his characters are. This villain in particular feels honestly more intense and more brilliant because of Jared Harris, if that makes sense. He makes this sort of a mental game between him and Santa. He has henchmen do his dirty work, so it’s much more of a pound for pound fight of their wits.
Thank you to Kelly for her time, and to Universal Pictures for organising the interview. Violent Night 2 is in Australian cinemas December 3
