Santa Claus is getting himself into some serious trouble this Christmas. A new behind-the-scenes preview for Violent Night 2 gives us a closer look at David Harbour’s return as the bloodthirsty holiday hero, including a zip-line stunt inside the sequel’s shopping mall setting.
The footage also teases a bigger action spectacle, with Santa facing a problem he can’t solve simply by reaching for his hammer: he’s landed on the Naughty List himself.
The new video, shared by the official Violent Night account, shows Harbour taking on the zip-line sequence as part of the action at Silver Bell Mall. The sequel is clearly looking to raise the stunt count after the original turned Christmas Eve into a very violent home invasion. This time, Santa’s battlefield is a shopping mall, where a ruthless gangster played by Jared Harris is terrorizing the merchants.
There’s a pretty good reason Santa needs to step up his game. According to the film’s official story description, he’s forgotten the true meaning of Christmas and finds himself cut off from the magic that normally makes his annual mission possible.
With his powers no longer available to bail him out, Santa has to rediscover what makes him Santa while dealing with the criminals taking over the mall. Apparently, even the guy who keeps the Naughty and Nice lists can end up on the wrong side of one.
And Santa won’t be fighting alone. Kristen Bell joins the sequel as Mrs. Claus, who looks more than ready to get her hands dirty. Bell reportedly spent five weeks training for the physically demanding role, and she’s bringing her own combat skills and weapons into the holiday mayhem. Mrs. Claus was barely part of the first movie’s story, so giving her a proper place in the sequel should make for a very different kind of Christmas reunion.
Tommy Wirkola returns to direct, with David Harbour back as Santa. The cast also includes Joe Pantoliano, Daniela Melchior, Andrew Bachelor and Maxwell Jacob Friedman alongside Bell and Harris. Universal Pictures is bringing the R-rated sequel exclusively to theaters on December 4, 2026.
But Harbour isn’t the only familiar action star putting on a Santa suit this December. Arnold Schwarzenegger is also heading into the holiday season as Father Christmas in The Man with the Bag, which begins streaming on Prime Video on December 2. The movie pairs Schwarzenegger with Alan Ritchson, who plays a thief recruited by Santa to recover his stolen magical bag after a rogue elf makes off with it. Awkwafina plays the elf, with Liza Koshy, Kyle Mooney, Jane Krakowski and Ken Jeong also among the cast.
So we’re getting two very different takes on Santa Claus within the same week. Schwarzenegger is leading a holiday heist, while Harbour is preparing to turn a shopping mall into a war zone. One Santa needs help getting Christmas back on schedule. The other needs to remember why Christmas matters in the first place.
I’m already curious to see which version of Santa audiences gravitate toward. But if you’re looking for a little less holiday cheer and a lot more bloodshed, Violent Night 2 has your name written all over the Naughty List. The movie arrives exclusively in theaters December 4.
