‘Violent Night 2’ Sets December 2026 Release Date!!

Christmas came early for fans of bloody and brutal Santas and David Harbour. A sequel to Tommy Wirkola‘s holiday-set action flick Violent Night is officially on its way, as 87North and Universal have set a release date. Harbour will get his suit and beard back on and get ready to rumble in theaters on December 4, 2026, landing the film right near the start of the holiday season. The Hollywood Reporter has also officially confirmed that Wirkola will be returning behind the camera for more Christmas carnage, as will the first film’s writers, Pat Casey and Josh Miller, who’ve been hard at work on a script. Universal is circling September as a start date for filming in Winnipeg with 87North‘s Kelly McCormick and David Leitch back as producers.

Released in 2022, the original Violent Night was a treat for action fans and Christmas movie lovers alike, casting Harbour as a bitter old St. Nick on the verge of retiring after spending centuries spreading cheer and presents throughout the world. Upon visiting a wealthy family’s manor on Christmas Eve, however, he stumbles into a nasty surprise upon finding that the family, including their seven-year-old daughter Trudy (Leah Brady), has been taken hostage by a criminal named Mr. Scrooge (John Leguizamo) and his henchmen. They’re shocked to find Santa on the grounds, who resolves to save the family by calling upon his past as Nicomund the Red and giving the crooks a holly jolly beatdown. The genre flick quickly became a hit, earning a respectable $76 million worldwide on a $20 million budget and scoring a solid 74% on Rotten Tomatoes.

For the sequel, the story is being kept under wraps at this time, though the writers have already given some idea as to what direction the story will take. Ahead of the release of their blockbuster Sonic the Hedgehog 3 last year, Casey and Miller gave Collider‘s Aidan Kelley an update on Violent Night 2 and how it widens the scope of Santa’s story. Instead of keeping him cooped up in a mansion for Die Hard-like action again, it will spend more time exploring St. Nicholas’s history. “We know people are hungry for more of his Viking backstory,” Casey said. “David is especially excited about that stuff.” Further proving that they “know what the people want,” they also assured that “Santa’s gonna take his shirt off even more in this one.”

‘Violent Night 2’ Brings the Band Back Together Under Wirkola

Wirkola‘s return assures that the Harbour‘s ice-pick-stabbing man with all the toys will get a second act that’s in line with the first. It’ll also give him a chance to explore a few aspects of Santa he didn’t have the opportunity to in the more contained original, like Mrs. Claus and the Elves. Before guiding Violent Night to success, the director previously helmed the two Dead Snow films, as well as The Trip and Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. Aside from Harbour, he still has a cast to fill out before filming the sequel this year. The Stranger Things star, Leguizamo, and Brady were also joined by Alex Hassell, Edi Patterson, Cam Gigandet, Alexis Louder, and Beverly D’Angelo, among others, in the first installment.