Miramax and Broad Green Pictures announced today that Billy Bob Thornton will reprise his signature role as Willie Soke in Bad Santa 2.The sequel is a follow-up to the raucous comedy hit Bad Santa first released in 2003. Geyer Kosinski will produce.
Miramax will partner with Broad Green Pictures to co-finance and co-produce. Broad Green will distribute Bad Santa 2 theatrically in the U.S. during the 2016 holiday season. Sierra/Affinity will handle foreign sales with sales starting at the upcoming American Film Market (November 4-11, 2015). Said Zanne Devine, Miramax's EVP of Film & TV.
"We've been waiting far too long to see Billy Bob's Willie Soke mess with the holiday season in his own unique way. We couldn't be more excited to partner with Billy Bob, the entire creative and producing team, and Broad Green and Sierra/Affinity to bring back the outrageous humor and characters that made this movie brand iconic in the first place."
Said Broad Green Pictures CEO Gabriel Hammond and CCO Daniel Hammond.
"Bad Santa has been a part of our family holiday tradition ever since we all saw it together at our neighborhood theatre. We are excited to bring this memorable character and new chapter back to the big screen."
David Thwaites will oversee the project for Miramax and Victor Moyers for Broad Green Pictures. Principal photography will commence in January 2016 in Montréal, Québec, Canada. No other cast members have been confirmed at this time. It is no known if Lauren Graham and Brett Kelly will be back to reprise their roles.
Bad Santa 2 is the latest project in a busy Miramax pipeline of new content. In July, Miramax in partnership with Roadside Attractions released the critically acclaimed summer specialty box office hit Mr. Holmes starring Academy Award nominees Ian McKellen and Laura Linney; in January, Miramax partnered with Sony-Screen Gems on the release of the Kevin Hart comedy hit The Wedding Ringer; the supernatural thriller TThe 9th Life of Louis Drax starring Jamie Dornan, Aaron Paul and Sarah Gadon is in post-production and represents Miramax's first foreign sales partnership with Sierra/Affinity; and as recently announced, Universal, Miramax and StudioCanal are co-financing Bridget Jones' Baby with Working Title producing. As a television studio, Miramax also just jointly announced with El Rey Network the third season of From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, with season two having concluded on El Rey Network on October 27.
Since its inception, Broad Green Pictures has released nine films including A Walk in the Woods, 99 Homes, Learning to Drive, I Smile Back and Samba. In addition to Bad Santa 2, Broad Green's upcoming slate includes Song of Lahore, The Dark Horse, three films by Terrence Malick, The Infiltrator, starring Bryan Cranston and BBrain on Fire starring Chloe Grace Moretz, Richard Armitage, Carrie-Anne Moss and Tyler Perry.
The deal was brokered on behalf of Miramax by Steve Hutensky and WME Global; Christopher Tricarico, EVP, Business & Legal Affairs and General Counsel, and Marc Danon, President of Acquisitions & Co-Productions, handled for Broad Green. Thornton is repped by WME.