This weekend, Violent Night will introduce the world to another offbeat interpretation of Santa. The new movie release sees David Harbour helping to turn the holly jolly man with a bag of toys into a warrior to be reckoned with. Ultimately, the results are fun and gory and surprisingly mesh well with Christmas cheer. And should the movie succeed and spawn a potential sequel, Harbour already has the perfect Mrs. Claus in mind to join him in battle.
During the press day for the Universal action-comedy, the subject of Santa’s wife came up due to how the film references the character. Though never seen, the audience is informed that she does indeed exist in this world, and things between her and her spouse are a bit rocky from what viewers can gather. Details such as those could make for an interesting follow-up, as whomever gets the role would ideally bicker with David Harbour while also lending him support in the field. On that note, Harbour pitched his dream Mrs. Claus to CinemaBlend as follows:
I mean, it is an action movie. Is The Rock available, we think? A little curly wig or something. No, that’s a joke. My dream would be … because it’s an action movie, right? And [David] Leitch did Atomic Blonde with her, she was so good with the choreography. My dream, she’ll never do it, but my dream would be Charlize Theron. I feel like she’s such a badass, I remember her in those fight scenes being so incredible. That would be my dream casting, but whoever plays it, if it happens, is going to be wonderful. It’s such a weird thing to ask me, because I feel it’ll be played 10 years from now, and people will get mad at me. But she would be my dream.
Hearing David Harbour suggest Charlize Theron as the Mrs. Claus of this movie’s universe makes sense the more you repeat it to yourself. Her role as Lorraine Broughton in Atomic Blonde works absurdly well for making this sort of enterprise happen. The most obvious reason for that is the fact that Theron’s role in that other adrenaline fueled action/adventure flick already has her prepped to take on the sort of action fans saw in the Violent Night trailer.
More importantly, the fact that both films are part of the 87North Productions stable of movies could help make the Santa actor's Christmas wish come true. David Leitch’s respective roles as director and producer on these films could make that sort of ask very easy, as Charlize Theron is already part of the family.
It should be noted that Violent Night’s hypothetical sequel has been talked about, with Mrs. Claus factoring into those discussions. I learned as much when asking director Tommy Wirkola about who he’d like to see in the role. His answer was a bit more on the tight-lipped side, but here’s what Wirkola did tell me about this intriguing prospect:
Honestly, for sure we do want to see Mrs. Claus, if we are lucky enough to make a sequel. Casting wise, I don’t know if I can say anything. There’s been some talk, but I don’t want to spoil it. It would be a nice surprise if we ever get there.
Sequel casting is an exciting topic of discussion, especially with critical reactions to Violent Night trending towards the positive side. Naturally, the movie needs to perform before any serious talks get underway, and that’s part of what will make tracking this movie’s weekend debut fun.
In terms of Charlize Theron’s schedule, she’s pretty busy herself. Theron’s recent MCU debut via Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness could tie her up for some time, if Marvel Studios history is any indicator. Not to mention the production of The Old Guard 2 and the potential for an Atomic Blonde 2 are also still on the table.
Any theoretical offers would depend on how quickly Violent Night 2 would get into production. Tommy Wirkola may have been onto something with his secretive answer though, as if Charlize Theron isn’t cast as Mrs. Claus, it’s going to be tough to picture anyone else taking that role. Well, unless The Rock is willing to pitch himself to David Harbour as more than just a joke.
For now, you can enjoy Santa giving the bad guys their lumps, coal and otherwise in Violent Night. The film will slide down a chimney of a movie theater near you on December 2 and just might prove itself to b one of the best action movies in quite a while. It'll take some time, but you can get in on the ground floor of that discussion real soon.
