Violent NightTommy Wirkola revealed howHansel and Gretel: Witch Huntersled to his work on his recent holiday-themed success.
Violent Nightis an action comedy starring David Harbourand directed by Norwegian filmmaker Wirkola that reimagines the classic holiday character Santa Clause as a rugged badass who hands out more than just coal to those at the top of his naughty list. When he discovers a wealthy family being held hostage by criminals in their own home, Santa decides to go to town on the bad guys and save the day.
RELATED:6 Best Christmas Movies To Watch If You Loved Violent Night
During an interview withThe Hollywood Reporter, Wirkola explained howHansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters' connection to David Leitch led toViolent Night. “I had just made a movie last year called The Trip … and I gave an early cut to David Leitch, Kelly McCormick, and Guy Danella at 87North because I’d known them from way back," Wirkola said. “David Leitch actually directed second unit onHansel & Gretel: Witch Huntersbefore he became one of the biggest directors in the world. So I sent them the film, they loved it, and they sent me the [Violent Night] script.” Soon after Wirkola was brought on board for the project it was announced thatHarbour would be playing Santa Clausin the holiday action movie.
A slew of interesting marketing followed, includingaViolent Nighttrailerwhere Harbour delivered season’s beatings, culminating in a successful release and positive reception. In the wake of this, many are already calling for a sequel well before the next holiday season. “It sounds stupid, but I’m a big believer in not jinxing anything. I’m like, ‘Can we just wait a little bit?’” exclaims Wirkola cheerily, before diving into the realm of possibility. “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. 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.”
In addition to paving the way for Wirkola to directViolent Night, it is also difficult to ignore the throughline shared by that film andHansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters,with both reimagining a common myth and injecting a healthy dose of action and muted humor into the material to boot. Wirkola seems to be two for two with this type of project, having supervised amazing performances from Harbour andHawkeyestar Jeremy Renner. Enjoyers of Wirkola’s work won’t be wrong to hope thatViolent Night, which has been even more well-received thanHansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters,will likewise lead to more opportunities for the director.
