‘The Man With the Bag’: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Alan Ritchson Set for New Christmas Comedy!!

Arnold Schwarzenegger is coming home for the holidays—and Alan Ritchson is coming with him. The duo will star in the holiday comedy The Man With the Bag for Amazon. Deadline reports that the duo will begin production on the family film later this year. The film will center around Santa Claus, who turns to his naughty list when his magic bag is stolen. There, he finds former thief Vance, who he enlists to steal it back. Together with his daughter, Santa, and a band of misfit elves, Vance has to pull off the wildest heist of his life. Amazon has yet to release any casting details, but presumably, Ritchson will play Vance, while Schwarzenegger will play cinema’s most jacked Santa Claus since Hulk Hogan donned the red suit in Santa With Muscles.

The Man With the Bag will be Schwarzenegger‘s first film in five years. He last graced the big screen in 2019’s Terminator: Dark Fate; the film was not a great success with critics or audiences, but Schwarzenegger‘s final turn (so far?) as the iconic T-800 was widely praised. In her review, Collider‘s Haleigh Foutch said Schwarzenegger‘s role in the film was “by far the best use of his next-level charisma yet.” He is currently the lead in rival streamer Netflix‘s action comedy series FUBAR. Ritchson, meanwhile, is making money hand over enormous fist for Amazon, with his titular role in their hit action series Reacher. He can currently be seen in the faith-based drama Ordinary Angels, and will star in Guy Ritchie‘s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare later this year.

What Are Some Other Unconventional Santa Claus Movies?

As a figure of great cultural significance – and one firmly in the public domain—Santa Claus’ cinematic appearances aren’t limited to conventional holiday fare like Miracle on 34th Street, Santa Claus: The Movie, or The Santa Clause. Santa-themed horror has been a staple of horror films since Joan Collins was menaced by a Santa-suited madman in 1972’s Tales From the Crypt. More recently, hapless victims have fallen prey to a homicidal Santa in Santa’s Slay (where the jolly old elf was played by pro wrestler Bill Goldberg), and a monstrous child-stealing Santa in the Finnish film Rare Exports. A less-horrifying, but equally violent Santa was found in the 2022 actioner Violent Night, a take-off on Die Hard where a John McClane-esque Santa (played by David Harbour) took on a mansion full of thieves led by a Christmas-hating John Leguizamo.

The Man With the Bag will be directed by Adam Shankman (Hairspray, Disenchanted), and written by Allan Rice (Stuck in the Middle, The New Adventures of Old Christine). It will be produced by Lawrence Grey, Ben Everard, Reg Tigerman, Dan Spilo, and Ritchson. The Man With the Bag is slated to begin production later this year; no release date has yet been set.