David Harbour is Santa Claus in first bloody Violent Night trailer

Cameron Frew
David Harbour as Santa Claus in Violent Night

Season’s beatings: Santa Claus goes full Die Hard in the first action-packed trailer for Violent Night, starring David Harbour as Father Christmas.

When you think of Santa in movies, who comes to mind? Tim Allen in The Santa Clause franchise must be up there, as will Richard Attenborough in Miracle on 34th Street.

That’s before we get to Kurt Russell in The Christmas Chronicles, Ed Asner in Elf, JK Simmons in Klaus, and let’s not forget Billy Bob Thornton in Bad Santa.

However, have you ever seen Santa take on a group of thieves on Christmas? Get ready for Violent Night, with David Harbour donning the red suit and white, bushy beard.

David Harbour stars as Santa Claus in first Violent Night trailer

You can watch the first trailer for Violent Night below:

The official synopsis reads: “When a team of mercenaries breaks into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve, taking everyone inside hostage, the team isn’t prepared for a surprise combatant: Santa Claus (David Harbour, Black Widow, Stranger Things series) is on the grounds, and he’s about to show why this Nick is no saint.

Alongside Harbour as Santa, the movie stars John Leguizamo, Cam Gigandet, Alex Hassell, and Alexis Louder.

Not only is it directed by Tommy Wirkola, the man who created the Dead Snow franchise, but it’s produced by 87North, the studio behind Nobody and John Wick.

In an interview with Premiere, the director teased: “I returned to the films that made me want to do this job when I was younger: I wanted to find the tone of the first Peter Jackson and Sam Raimi.

“Braindead and Evil Dead are electroshocks… you’re in for a mix of gore and action, but there’s also that quirky sense of humor.”

Violent Night is due for release in cinemas on December 2.