The writers behind this year’s Christmas action flick Violent Night, Pat Casey and Josh Miller, have a major new franchise in mind with David Harbour’s Santa at its center. Speaking with SyFy, the writing duo revealed their plans for “lots of sequels,” each of which would lead to “crazier and crazier” goings-on.
One element they would love to explore more is Santa’s mysterious, and very violent, backstory. Offering glimpses of Santa’s past as Viking warrior Nikamund the Red, Casey and Miller were careful not to force themselves into a creative corner should Violent Night 2 get given the greenlight.
“We’re all hoping we get lots of sequels. We’re hoping we can baby step into crazier and crazier things. Based on reactions to the first movie on Twitter and stuff, we see a lot of people wanting to know more about Santa’s backstory. So it does feel like there’s an appetite for more of that tale to be told.”
Violent Night director Tommy Wirkola meanwhile has several other ideas in mind. “But, of course the writers have talked about it, and I have thrown some ideas out there. We don’t see the North Pole, we don’t see Mrs. Claus and we don’t see the elves,” the filmmaker said recently. “There were also a few ideas that we loved in the script, but we had to cut them because we couldn’t afford to shoot them. It’s such a cliché to say, but we all had a blast doing this film. So I really hope we get to explore it more.”
“We used to have more of his backstory in the first one and that got stripped out for pacing. I guess it’ll be a bummer if we never get a sequel, but part of us was was kind of happy because that just leaves more stuff to do in sequels. One thing we’ve learned from the Sonic movies is [that] sometimes painting yourself into a corner for the sequel sucks. Because you’re like, ‘Oh, man! I wish we hadn’t said that one sentence in the earlier movie!’”
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So, should the writers and director be given the cinematic universe they want, there are clearly plenty of ideas floating around to make the Violent Night franchise a holiday staple for years to come.
Violent Night Has Been Met with Positive Reviews & a Decent Box Office Taking
Universal Pictures
Violent Night finds Stranger Things star David Harbour as the sort of Santa Claus that audiences have not seen before as he reaches into his sack and brings out the big guns after a team of elite mercenaries breaks into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve, taking everyone inside hostage. But the team isn’t prepared for a surprise combatant: Santa Claus is on the grounds, and he’s about to show why this Nick is no saint.
Starring John Leguizamo, Beverly D’Angelo, Alex Hassell, Alexis Louder, Edi Patterson, Cam Gigandet, and André Eriksen alongside David Harbour, Violent Night landed in theaters earlier this month. Just in time to give audiences the perfect holiday treat.
Violent Night has been met with positive reviews from critics, and currently sits at a fresh 73% on Rotten Tomatoes. “Violent Night isn’t as wildly entertaining as its concept might suggest, but for those seeking harder-edged holiday fare, it may be a ho-ho-whole lot of fun,” the general consensus reads.
Alongside the praise from both critics and audiences alike, Violent Night by all accounts has also been a solid success at the box office, garnering over $55 million worldwide against its $20 million budget. Hopefully, seeing as Violent Night and writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller have been so good this Christmas, they might just get the festive action franchise they’ve asked for.
