The original Bad Santa had Lauren Graham falling for the questionable charms of Billy Bob Thornton’s Willie Stokes. It looks like she won’t be back for the sequel, but in her place will be Christina Hendricks.
Thornton is returning as the drunken criminal who, in the first film, at least, spent his days as a Santa in shopping malls so he could rob them. Not much is known about what he’ll be up to in the new one, but Variety’s report about Hendricks’ casting has her as the head of a charity that is targeted by Thornton and his mother, played somewhat incongruously given their relatively similar ages, by Kathy Bates. Despite that, it appears she may end up as more than just a mark.
Tony Cox and Brett are also back for this one, with Mark Waters taking up the directorial megaphone and Johnny Rosenthal, Doug Ellin and Shauna Cross all having contributed to the script. The cameras will be rolling next week in Montreal, so watch out for your valuables.
Hendricks, last seen in Lost River, will also show up in Nicolas Winding Refn’s The Neon Demon, which has yet to secure a UK release date.