David Harbour shows off his brutal Santa in a new clip from Violent Night, which shows the actor beating up a criminal on Christmas Eve. After becoming widely recognized for his role as Hopper on Stranger Things, Harbour is next slated to appear in Violent Night, an upcoming Christmas-themed action movie from director Tommy Nikola with Deadpool 2 director David Leitch on board as a producer. In addition to Harbour, the film also features John Leguizamo, Beverly D'Angelo, Cam Gigandet, and Edi Patterson, among others. Violent Night follows Santa as he takes down a group of mercenaries who attack a wealthy family's estate, with the first trailer already teasing some bloody and hilarious John Wick-style action from Father Christmas himself.A recent clip from Violent Night was shared on Twitter courtesy of ComicBook, teasing some of what fans can expect from David Harbour's Santa Claus. The clip features a unique blend of action and humor, showing just what happens when a heavily armed goon decides to push Santa past his breaking point. While not giving away too much, the clip does show how Santa becomes trapped in the estate in the first place and why fighting his way out becomes the only option. Check out the clip below:
Why David Harbour Makes The Perfect Killer Santa
While a number of actors have played jolly old Saint Nick to varying degrees of effectiveness, Harbour seems perfectly suited to taking on a much more violent and ruthless version of the iconic holiday figure. Harbour's previous roles show why he was the perfect choice for Santa, showing off his capacity to be joyous and caring but also not afraid to get his hands dirty in a fight. In Stranger Things, for example, Hopper becomes a father figure to Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) in later seasons, but also has some of the show's best fight scenes, even facing off against a Terminator-like henchman in Stranger Things season 3 in some violent encounters.
Outside of Stranger Things, Hopper also has a number of other credits to his name that speaks to his ability to capture the physicality of a more down and dirty Santa. In addition to supporting roles in movies like The Equalizer and A Walk Among The Tombstones, in which he played scummy villain characters, the actor also appeared in the gritty action-thriller Extraction, which features an intense fight scene between him and Chris Hemsworth's character. While all of those movies see Harbour playing more realistic, less extreme characters, the actor has also proven himself able to take on larger-than-life figures with movies like Black Widow and Hellboy, the former of which sees him playing a washed up Soviet super soldier called Red Guardian.
Violent Night Already Feels Ripe For A Sequel
Hailing from Leitch's 87North Productions, which has also produced hit action movies like Nobody, which is getting a sequel, and Bullet Train, Violent Night is likely to have very strong action design. As Nobody (and John Wick before it) has already demonstrated, a charismatic leading man and strong action sequences are often a recipe for success. Although a sequel will mostly depend on how the first film does at the box office, the premise alone of a violent Santa who saves Christmas from criminals lends itself to additional movies, much like how Die Hard and Die Hard 2 both put John McClane at the center of different terrorist plots on Christmas Eve.
Source: ComicBook/ Twitter
