Tommy Wirkola Returning to Direct ‘Violent Night 2' (Exclusive)
Tommy Wirkola is back in the sleigh for Violent Night 2, the sequel to its Christmas-themed action movie released in 2022, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter.
The studio on Wednesday dated the sequel for a Dec. 4, 2026 unwrapping.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
'Street Fighter' Movie Removed From Calendar as Phoebe Dynevor Shark Thriller Moves Back a Year
Phoebe Dynevor Shark Thriller From Tommy Wirkola Gets Title and Summer 2025 Release
Tommy Wirkola on Going From Nazi Zombies in 'Dead Snow' to Singing Semen in 'Spermageddon'
David Harbour is back as the icepick-stabbing, skate-slashing Santa Claus, who in the first movie was a bitter drunk headed towards turning back on the holiday until a little girl shows him the light.
It's unclear if his lucidity will remain intact for the second outing. Also unclear is if the new story will include Mrs. Claus, briefly mention in the first movie. Universal is eying a September start of production in Winnipeg.
Kelly McCormick and David Leitch of 87North are back as producers as are screenwriting team Pat Casey and Josh Miller.
Violent Night proved to be a solid hit, gifting the studio a $50 million domestic haul on a budget of around $20 million. It took in an additional $25.9 million from international markets.
Wirkola's previous credits include the Norwegian horror hit Dead Snow and relationship action comedy The Trip.
In 2022, the filmmaker told The Hollywood Reporter he and the writers were already talking of a sequel that could incorporate ideas they couldn't fit into the first movie. 'We don't see the North Pole, we don't see Mrs. Claus and we don't see the elves,' Wirkola said. '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.'
Wirkola is repped by CAA and Untitled Entertainment.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts
Hollywood Stars Who Are One Award Away From an EGOT
'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
4 hours ago
- USA Today
'HBD, 'Jaws': You're 50! How to watch special TV presentation with Steven Spielberg
'HBD, 'Jaws': You're 50! How to watch special TV presentation with Steven Spielberg Show Caption Hide Caption Athlete marks 'Jaws' 50th anniversary with 60-mile swim Swimmer Lewis Pugh circumnavigated Martha's Vineyard to mark the 50th anniversary of the movie "Jaws" and draw attention to the plight of sharks. June marks five decades since a giant human-hunting shark swam into the seaside village of fictitious Amit, Massachusetts, terrorizing local beach-goers. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the horror movie 'Jaws', a three-hour film will air on NBC next week with a special introduction from the Hollywood blockbuster's director, Steven Spielberg, the network told USA TODAY on June 12. The horror film, famous for its terrifying two-note John Williams musical intro (dun-dunn... dun-dunn) hit theaters on June 20, 1975, bringing new meaning to the fear of what's in the sea. The movie features actors including Roy Scheider (police chief Martin Brody); Lorraine Gary (his wife Ellen Brody); Richard Dreyfuss (marine biologist Matt Hooper); and Robert Shaw (big fish hunter Quint). 'Universal is home to the biggest movies in the world, and it doesn't get any bigger than Jaws,' NBCUniversal Television & Streaming Chief Marketing Officer Jenny Storms said. 'We want to celebrate 50 years of this enduring film that has captured the public imagination for generations by bringing it to audiences at home in all the ways they love to watch.' Here's what to know about the special three-hour airing of the iconic film, including where to watch it, what day it airs, and what time it starts. Happy Birthday, 'Jaws'! 🦈 Nautica is making waves with a 'Jaws' 50th anniversary collection When does special 'JAWS' presentation air? NBC's three-hour presentation of the original film airs on June 20 at 8 p.m. ET/10 p.m. PT. Florida shark attack: 9-year-old girl bit by shark while snorkeling, family says How to watch 'Jaws' special NBC presentation at home Fans can watch the special presentation on NBC. JAWS turns 50 In addition to the three-hour presentation, beginning on June 15, 'Jaws' and its three sequels' Jaws 2'; 'Jaws 3' and 'Jaws: The Revenge' also air on Peacock. A big screen re-release is also set for Aug. 29. Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@ and follow her on X @nataliealund.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Dua Lipa and Callum Turner: A Complete Relationship Timeline
Getty It looks like Dua Lipa was not too busy for love after all…. Lipa and Fantastic Beasts actor Callum Turner sparked relationship rumors just one month after the pop star reportedly split from filmmaker Romain Gavras. 'Dua and Romain have gone their separate ways after a summer of love,' a source told The Sun in early December 2022 before heavily implying that Lipa was too focused on her music career for their relationship to work. Well, it looks like she found time in her schedule. In January 2023, Lipa and Turner were spotted getting pretty cozy at the 33-year-old actor's Masters of the Air premiere after-party. 'It's new, but they're mad about each other,' a source told Page Six at the time. A little over two years later, Lipa and Turner are officially engaged. Here's a complete timeline of their relationship, with the latest developments first. June 12, 2025: Lipa confirms her engagement during a recent interview with British Vogue. 'Yeah, we're engaged. It's very exciting,' Lipa says, adding that she's 'obsessed' with the ring he had made for her after consulting her best friends and her sister. 'It's so me,' Lipa said. 'It's nice to know the person that you're going to spend the rest of your life with knows you very well.' As far as the wedding is concerned, the couple is not in a rush to walk down the aisle. 'I want to finish my tour, Callum's shooting, so we're just enjoying this period,' Lipa said. 'I've never been someone who's really thought about a wedding or dreamed about what kind of bride I would be. All of a sudden I'm like, Oh, what would I wear?' Lipa says she 'never really understood the weight' of getting engaged until now, adding, 'This decision to grow old together, to see a life and just, I don't know, be best friends forever—it's a really special feeling.' Lipa also discussed expanding her family, revealing she's waiting for the right time. 'I'd love to have kids one day. But it's like the constant question of when would there ever be a good time—how it would fit in with my job and how it would work if I went on tour, and how much time out I'd have to take,' she says. 'I think it's just one of those things that's going to happen when it happens. I love kids, but I think there's so much more to raising a child than just loving children.' December 28, 2024: Lipa appears to egg on engagement rumors, posting a sweet photo with Turner on Instagram and once again obscuring her left ring finger. 'tooooooooo much fun ✨❤️🔥,' she captioned the roundup, which appears to feature photos taken throughout the year. December 26, 2024: A source tells The Sun that the pair are 'engaged and couldn't be happier,' though neither the singer nor the actor has confirmed the rumors. 'Dua has had one of the best years of her career professionally and this is the cherry on the cake,' the source claims. 'Callum is such a solid support for Dua and they make a wonderful couple. Their family and friends are so happy. It's been an amazing Christmas for them.' December 25, 2024: On Christmas Day, the singer sparks engagement rumors with a holiday roundup featuring Turner and a sparkling diamond on her left ring finger. After her fans flooded the initial post with engagement questions and theories, she posted another series of photos—all strategically covering up that finger. Icon behavior. November 19, 2024: Turner performs his Instagram boyfriend duties well, earning him the first spot in another Instagram roundup. July 2, 2024: They're Instagram official! Turner makes not one but two sweet appearances in one of Lipa's grid posts. June 29, 2024: Lipa and Turner hold hands at Glastonbury Festival in England. April 26, 2024: Lipa is all smiles on date night with Turner in New York City. February 18, 2024: Though Lipa and Turner walk the 2024 BAFTAs red carpet separately, the pair are later photographed holding hands as they arrive for an after-party hosted by British Vogue and Tiffany & Co. Lipa traded her red Valentino gown for a sheer black feather dress. January 30, 2024: The pair get cozy in coordinated looks while walking in Beverly Hills. The duo were photographed arm in arm in light-wash jeans and white tops. January 16, 2024: The PDA continues at celeb hot spot Sushi Park, with Turner planting a sweet kiss on Lipa's cheek. January 14, 2023: Page Six reports that Lipa and Turner had dinner in Santa Monica with a group of friends after leaving an event at Aero Theatre. January 11, 2024: TMZ shares video of Lipa and Turner slow-dancing and kissing at an after-party for Masters of the Air, which stars Turner, Austin Butler, and Barry Keoghan. Following the party, Turner deftly ignored a reporter who asked about the relationship, but a source tells Page Six that the pair are dating. 'It's new, but but they're mad about each other,' the source says. 'She was at the premiere to support him.' January 10, 2024: Lipa and Turner both attend the premiere of the Apple TV+ series Masters of the Air in Los Angeles. January 8, 2024: Controversial celebrity gossip account DeuxMoi posts an anonymous tip that Lipa was 'looking very cozy' with Turner after the Golden Globes. January 7, 2024: Lipa attends the Golden Globes. December 2, 2023: A source tells The Sun that Lipa and French director Romain Gavras called it quits 'before things turned sour.' 'Dua and Romain have gone their separate ways after a summer of love,' the source says, 'She has blinkers on when it comes to her career, and the pair ended the relationship before things turned sour. Romain considered Dua to be a workaholic but she doesn't plan on slowing down for anything or anyone.' This post may be updated. Celebrity Style Dua Lipa and Callum Turner's Couple Style Is, Like Them, Hot Turner's low-key but considered looks are the perfect backdrop to his girlfriend's more mercurial wardrobe. Originally Appeared on Glamour
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘Andy Kaufman Is Me' Review: Solid but Unrevelatory Doc Uses Puppetry to Tackle the Iconic Comic
I've sat through enough duplicative documentaries over the years to know that there's very little harm, but also very little illumination, in viewing multiple projects about Fyre Festival or that ill-fated submarine or Woodstock '99. Just because I watched Alex Braverman's Thank You Very Much, which launched at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, doesn't mean that it's bad to rehash most of the same biographical plot points and pivotal TV appearances of the enigmatic Andy Kaufman in Clay Tweel's new documentary, Andy Kaufman Is Me, premiering at Tribeca. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'Surviving Ohio State' Review: HBO's Sexual Abuse Doc Is Thorough and Persuasive, but Lacks a New Smoking Gun 'A Tree Fell in the Woods' Review: Josh Gad and Alexandra Daddario in an Uneven, Occasionally Insightful Relationship Dramedy Jim Sheridan's 'Re-creation' Puts One of Ireland's Most Troubling Murder Cases Back on Trial It happens that the two Andy Kaufman documentaries are nicely complementary texts, featuring basically no overlapping talking heads and landing on mostly different life events as pivotal to Kaufman's development, even if they exert a lot of effort in coming to the same self-evident conclusion: Because so much of Andy Kaufman's life was performance art, and because Andy Kaufman died in 1984, we may never know the real Andy Kaufman — but darned if we aren't going to attempt extremely rudimentary psychiatric analysis in our failed attempt to unravel the mystery. Andy Kaufman Is Me, which at least has a distinctive visual approach that Kaufman probably would have appreciated, is narrowly the better of the two fine documentaries. That said, I think we've hit a brick wall in this thesis on the highly influential, thoroughly unknowable icon. We can maybe wait a decade or two for our next Andy Kaufman documentary, at least until somebody has a fresher idea. Boasting the credit 'Produced in Consultation with The Estate of Andy Kaufman,' Andy Kaufman Is Me absolutely feels like the more 'authorized' documentary. Tweel — and producers including Dwayne Johnson, for whatever reason — is able to build his version of Kaufman's story around extensive interviews with siblings Michael and Carol; Kaufman's own audio journals; and a wide assortment of recorded conversations between biographer Bill Zehme and Kaufman's father Stanley as well as other key figures. The immediacy of these relations and connections contributes warmth and poignancy, but not necessarily deep insight into the man that Kaufman actually became. The Braverman documentary, with its interviews with Kaufman's longtime creative collaborator Bob Zmuda and longtime girlfriend Lynne Margulies, had much better representation from the individuals closest to Kaufman at the peak of his fame and infamy — hence my feeling that these two documentaries nestle nicely into each other, even if there's an inherent staleness to watching people attempt to solve the same riddle over and over again. It's as if Sherlock Holmes had failed to solve the crime in A Study in Scarlet and had spent the rest of his life explaining that he hadn't exactly been wrong, that it was just a really difficult case. Andy Kaufman Is Me doesn't offer much that counts as surprising, but how could it? This documentary has a better perspective, for example, on Kaufman's time at community college and how it shaped his goals, but once his career accelerates, even casual fans know the key beats. He exploded as perhaps the original alt-comedy star, with his off-putting sets that were, as several people observe, more theater than standup. He became a huge sensation thanks to Saturday Night Live and regular late-night appearances that left the various hosts as perplexed as they were amused. With Taxi, he became an even bigger deal, but not really the star he wanted to be, because he was ill-suited for scripted sitcom containment. He alienated friends and fans alike with his alter ego Tony Clifton and with his notorious incursions into the world of wrestling. Then he got cancer and either died or faked his own death, if your participation in the Andy Kaufman Memorial Complex hinges on that conspiratorial interpretation. Tweel's point of entry is Kaufman's semi-autobiographical novel The Huey Williams Story, seeds of which feature heavily in the 84 hours of personal tapes the director was able to acquire. The book was published as a work-in-progress by his brother in 1999, but Tweel treats it as a snapshot into Kaufman's brain, one that can only be captured through puppetry by the Bob Baker Marionette Theater. The use of dead-eyed versions of Kaufman and Clifton is suitably eerie and alienating, suggesting that the best way to learn the truth about Andy Kaufman might be to view him through another artificial and fictional remove. The puppetry is whimsical and creepy, connecting well with the ABC special in which Kaufman met Howdy Doody, a pure and beautiful moment that both recent documentaries correctly assess as a mid-career Rosetta Stone. It's a worthwhile aesthetic swing for Tweel to take, but I'm not sure the attempt to give Andy Kaufman Is Me a four-act structure that semi-mirrors the hero's journey in the book adds much, and it never becomes as confrontationally surreal as Kaufman's writing clearly aspired to be. It isn't like Tweel is fully committed to the puppetry and structure anyway. At some point, the documentary just pauses its forward momentum to let people like David Letterman (another executive producer here), Eric Andre and Tim Heidecker explain why Andy Kaufman was influential, which is both completely accurate and completely self-evident in this context. I will never object to spending 100 minutes remembering Kaufman's defining sketches and marveling at the ambitions that his death left unfulfilled. It's time, though, for documentarians to take a break from offering interpretations of Kaufman's life that claim to be unprecedented — at least until one truly is. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts Hollywood Stars Who Are One Award Away From an EGOT 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now
