Red One: Dwayne Johnson Debuts First Trailer for His Santa Claus Story

Amazon MGM Studios has released a trailer for Red One, the upcoming action-comedy that centers on the search for a missing Santa Claus. The movie, which stars Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans, revealed its first look at Santa yesterday, as played by Justice League actor J.K. Simmons. The film hails from Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle director Jake Kasdan, who is also set to reteam with Johnson and company for a third installment in the Jumanji revival series.

It’s no surprise Sony is eager to make more; the first Jumanji from Kasdan and company earned almost $1 billion at the global box office, and its sequel pulled in $800 million. With the Men in Black franchise on life support, James Bond likely headed to Amazon, and uneven returns from their Spider-Man universe of characters, the studio will take all the drama-free franchises they can get.

You can see the trailer below.

Plot details are secretive, but the film is “building out a universe of very cool Christmas lore and bad assery all in one,” according to Johnson. Another description of Red One describes it as “a globe-trotting, four-quadrant action-adventure comedy, imagining a whole new universe to explore within the holiday genre.”

It’s likely Red One will have a relatively short theatrical-only window, so that Amazon MGM can benefit from kicking it to Prime Video in time for the Christmas season — but if the movie does well in theaters, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them resist. The “in theaters only” tag is in place for mid-November, although after just a week in theaters, they would have to compete with Gladiator 2 for the action movie eyeballs.

Both Johnson and Evans have been splitting time between huge theatrical tentpoles and lucrative streaming deals, with movies like Red Notice, The Gray Man, and even some other movies that don’t have colors in the title going straight to Netflix in recent years. Don’t worry, though; Red One returns to the colorful nomenclature.

Red One stars Johnson and Chris Evans in the lead roles, with Simmons as Santa and Bonnie Hunt as Mrs. Claus. Kiernan Shipka (The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) and Lucy Liu (Charlie’s Angels) also star in the film, which feels like the kind of broad adventure comedy that Johnson does best. It’s happening amid a marketplace full of unconventional Christmas stories, from Spirited (with Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell) to Violent Night (with David Harbour and John Leguizamo).

Red One will be in theaters on November 15.