With the news that Disney will be bringing back Tim Allen to The Santa Clause with a new Disney+ series based on the franchise, fans have not been happy at a couple of omissions from the cast of characters returning for the series. The Santa Clauses will see Tim Allen once again reprising his role as Santa/Scott Calvin, along with Elizabeth Mitchell has his wife, and Austin Kane and Elizabeth Allen Dick as children Cal and Sandra respectively. However, it looks like two notable stars missing from the list are Eric Lloyd, who played the Calvins' third child Charlie, and David Krumholtz who played the often sarcastic Bernard the elf in the first two movies of the franchise.
As fans took to Twitter to air their annoyance at the two missing stars, with many responding directly to Disney’s announcement of the series with comments like “Where’s Bernard?” and “I need Charlie and Bernard, even in cameos. It’s not the Santa Clause franchise without them.”, it is clear that many have forgotten that Krumholtz had already dipped out of the franchise’s third installment, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause.
When the third movie in the series was made, Krumholtz did not reprise his role as Bernard, claiming it “devalued” the character to do so. He previously told Vulture that despite the character originally being in the movie in a significant way, when it came to it, he just couldn’t go through with it. He said:
"Bernard was [originally] in the third movie. They sent me the script, I had a pretty significant role. We did work out the schedule, which was going to be hellish on me, but I was going to make it work. And it was all set to go. But I would say that the character got devalued a little bit and I couldn't in good conscience do it. The third one, I've tried to watch. It's not the same. I think the first two are really special."
David Krumholtz Was Shocked At The Series Announcement
While there are plenty of fans who clearly expected Krumholtz to return to the franchise, along with other absentee Lloyd, his likelihood of appearing in the series was evident from the actor’s reaction to the Disney+ announcement on his Instagram account, when he called the series “nothing short of shocking.” In contrast, there has been no sign as to why Lloyd is not returning after appearing in all three original movies.
When it comes to the series itself, the official synopsis explains, "Scott Calvin is on the brink of his 65th birthday and realizing that he can't be Santa forever. He's starting to lose a step in his Santa duties, and more importantly, he's got a family who could benefit from a life in the normal world, especially his two kids who have grown up at the Pole. With a lot of elves, children, and family to please, Scott sets out to find a suitable replacement Santa while preparing his family for a new adventure in a life south of the pole."