Maxwell Friedman and Andrew 'King Bach' Bachelor Crash the Cast of Violent Night 2
Summary: Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF), the AEW wrestling star, and comedian-actor Andrew “King Bach” Bachelor have joined the cast of Violent Night 2, the sequel to the 2022 Santa-action movie starring David Harbour. Want a quick refresher on the first film, details on who’s returning, or what this casting might suggest about the sequel’s tone?
Santa is suiting up to crack skulls again. Universal and 87North are moving fast on Violent Night 2, and the sequel just added two very internet-famous faces to its naughty list.
Release date and the big additions
Violent Night 2 is aiming for a theatrical release on December 4, 2026. David Harbour is back in the red suit, and Deadline says AEW wrestling star Maxwell Friedman (aka MJF) and influencer-turned-actor Andrew 'King Bach' Bachelor have joined the cast. Roles are under wraps for now, which probably means they are up to no good.
Cast so far
- David Harbour as Santa Claus (returning)
- Daniela Melchior (The Suicide Squad)
- Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars)
- Joe Pantoliano (Bad Boys for Life)
- Jared Harris (credited here as House of Dynamite, which is... an interesting choice of credit)
- Maxwell 'MJF' Friedman (AEW; The Iron Claw, Happy Gilmore 2)
- Andrew 'King Bach' Bachelor (Coffee & Kareem, The Babysitter: Killer Queen; over 70 million followers across platforms)
Quick refresher on the first one
Tommy Wirkola's original Violent Night was an R-rated holiday brawler where a squad of mercs took a wealthy family hostage on Christmas Eve and accidentally picked a fight with the wrong guy: Santa. He did not put out milk and cookies. He put bodies on the floor.
Who is making this thing
Wirkola is back to direct. Patrick Casey and Josh Miller, who have been busy writing all three Sonic the Hedgehog movies, are returning to script. 87North founders Kelly McCormick and David Leitch are producing through their first-look deal with Universal. On the studio side, Universal's EVP of Production Development Matt Reilly and Director of Development Tony Ducret are overseeing.
The vibe they are chasing
The writers have been pretty clear they want to go bigger than a mansion siege this time. They are also leaning into the stuff fans wanted more of last time: Viking Santa lore and, apparently, Santa shedding more layers. Their words, not mine:
"The Violent Night movies are not as big budget as the Sonic movies, but we still want this one to feel bigger than the first one. And you don’t want Santa just trapped in a mansion again."
"Santa’s gonna take his shirt off even more in this one. We know what the people want. We know people are hungry for more of his Viking backstory. David is especially excited about that stuff."
"The first one obviously lived in a Die Hard space. We can’t tease too much, other than we’re trying to bring in a little Western influence."
They have even kicked around a cheeky subtitle: 'Massacre on 34th Street.' No confirmation that it sticks, but A+ seasonal chaos energy.
A couple inside baseball notes
MJF showing up makes sense: he is one of wrestling's top heels and has been sampling Hollywood with The Iron Claw and the upcoming Happy Gilmore 2. King Bach went from Vine royalty to legit multi-hyphenate, and studios love that kind of built-in audience. No clue who they are playing, but if this franchise has taught us anything, it is that getting on Santa's bad side is a career-limiting decision.
Bottom line: bigger canvas, more myth, a dash of Western flavor, and Santa swinging for the fences. December 2026 just got a little blood-red.