Before Landman, Taylor Sheridan’s Lead Perfected the Ultimate Christmas Movie for People Who Hate Christmas Movies
Billy Bob Thornton is all grit as oil-field fixer Tommy Norris in Taylor Sheridan’s Landman—then flips the holidays on their head in Bad Santa, the subversive must-watch of the season.
If you know Billy Bob Thornton right now as Taylor Sheridan's grizzled problem-solver in Landman, here's a holiday curveball: cue up Bad Santa. It is the exact opposite vibe, in the best way. Thornton goes from oil-field crisis fixer to a mall Santa who is an absolute menace, and the whiplash is kind of the point.
Quick refresher: Bad Santa
- Title: Bad Santa
- Director: Terry Zwigoff
- Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Cox, Lauren Graham, Brett Kelly
- Release date: November 26, 2003
- Running time: 92 minutes
- Rotten Tomatoes: 78% Tomatometer, 75% Audience Score
The setup is simple and filthy: Thornton plays Willie T. Soke, a professional drunk and small-time con who takes a seasonal gig as a mall Santa so he can rob the place on Christmas Eve. It is intentionally not wholesome. This is a coal-black comedy loaded with profanity, gross-out gags, and a lead character who starts out as a human dumpster fire.
Why the movie works (and why it stuck)
As mean as the jokes get, the film sneaks in something real. Willie ends up bonding with Thurman, a lonely, painfully awkward kid, and that off-kilter friendship pulls him a few steps back from the edge. It is still abrasive and absolutely not for kids, but underneath the hangovers and heists is a story about isolation and finding a connection in the least sentimental way possible. That balance is why it turned into a cult favorite, and Thornton threads the needle — he is outrageously nasty and somehow still recognizably human.
From Landman to Bad Santa 3?
Over in Sheridan-land, Thornton is Tommy Norris in Landman — a veteran landman and crisis manager keeping the oil game from imploding. But he has not shelved the red suit. On The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon recently, he joked that he feels a weird sense of ownership when he sees other people suit up as Santa. More importantly, he gave an update on the sequel chatter:
"There’s been talk of it, and my manager said there have been probably 50 pitches, and they’re all horrible, and finally, just a couple of weeks ago, he heard one that he really likes. So there is a possibility of a Bad Santa 3."
He has not read a script yet, so nobody is firing up the sleigh. But if that promising pitch actually turns into a movie and the timing works out, a holiday 2026 release does not sound crazy. File it under cautious optimism.
Where to watch
Bad Santa is streaming on HBO Max. Landman is streaming on Paramount+ in the US. If you want to see how far one actor can swing between worlds — from oil patches to mall parking lots — that double feature will do it.