Violent Night 2 Writers Discuss Possible Mrs. Claus Actresses

David Harbour‘s butt-kicking Santa might need a Mrs. Claus, and the candidates are intriguingly familiar. Following Harbour’s recent Instagram reveal of the screenplay for the Violent Night sequel, where he posed with a mall Santa and captioned “Merry Xmas, ya filthy animals” — referencing Home Alone’s faux gangster movie “Angels with Filthy Souls” — writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller are carefully navigating questions about potential casting for Santa’s better half in the followup film.

In an interview with CinemaBlend, when presented with the possibility of Harbour’s Stranger Things co-star Winona Ryder joining the franchise, Miller’s response was notably cautious, so much so that he said he probably shouldn’t even comment.

“I hadn’t even thought about Winona,” Miller said. “I mean, yeah, we can’t comment on casting, and probably shouldn’t even comment on whether she is or isn’t in the movie at all.”

[RELATED: This New Christmas Cult-Classic needs to Make One Big Change for the Sequel]

The conversation around an appearance by Mrs. Claus emerged from the first film’s hint at marital difficulties for Santa and Ryder isn’t the only name that has come up as a possibility for the role. Another name in the mix is Charlize Theron, whose connection to 87North productions makes her an intriguing possibility for the role. However, while the writers are staying tight-lipped about casting, tthey were more forthcoming about the sequel’s direction.

“I think it’ll feel very similar to the first one in the way people want,” Miller shared. “But maybe the one tease we can say that’s not giving anything away [is] if the first one was drawing a lot from a certain type of action movie, we’re trying to draw inspiration for this one a bit from Westerns. It’s not going to be a Western, but [has] some [Western] story elements and thematics.”

“I mean, more violence, more Christmas spirit,” Casey added.

And it isn’t just the addition of Mrs. Clause that is on the table for Violent Night 2. Director Tommy Wirkola, who is returning for the sequel, also expressed interest in expanding the franchise’s overall scope, including locations featured in the film.

“We didn’t see the North Pole, we didn’t see the elves, we didn’t see Mrs. Claus. And also, the first film was just one location, one mansion,” he said. “We want to try to go a little bit bigger — not too much, but expand upon the world and the characters [while still keeping] the same sense of humor.”

As for when Violent Night 2 might go into production, while Casey and Miller are excited for how the sequel is shaping up and are pleased that fans have made the original movie part of their holiday tradition, the sequel will largely be dependent on Harbour’s schedule.

“You can fake snow for Christmas movies, but David Harbour is also very busy, so it’s just finding the right window to get it made,” Miller said.

Violent Night, starring Harbour alongside John Leguizamo, Alex Hassell, Alexis Louder, and Beverly D’Angelo, is currently available to stream on Starz through Prime Video subscription add-ons.