Christina Hendricks has joined the Bad Santa 2 cast
Miramax and Broad Green Pictures have announced today that “Mad Men” star Christina Hendricks will join the Bad Santa 2 cast as a new character named Diane, who runs a charitable organization and, naturally, becomes the love interest to Billy Bob Thornton’s mall-Santa scoundrel, Willie Soke.
As recently announced, Golden Globe nominee Thornton (television series ”Fargo”, Sling Blade, Simple Plan, Bandits) will reprise his signature role as Soke, the character he made famous in the raucous comedy box office hit Bad Santa (2003). Tony Cox and Brett Kelly from the original film will also return, with Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy winner Kathy Bates (Misery, Titanic) playing Sunny Soke, the foulmouthed, tough-as-nails mom of Thornton’s character.
Mark Waters (Mean Girls, Freaky Friday) will direct from a screenplay by Johnny Rosenthal, Doug Ellin (“Entourage”) and Shauna Cross (If I Stay, Whip It). Geyer Kosinski (The Astronaut Farmer, The Bad News Bears, television series “Fargo”) and Andrew Gunn (Freaky Friday) will produce. Bad Santa 2 will be executive produced by Miramax’s Zanne Devine and David Thwaites, Broad Green’s Gabriel and Daniel Hammond, Mark Waters and Jessica Tuchinsky, and Doug Ellin.
Miramax and Broad Green Pictures are partnering to co-finance and co-produce the sequel with Broad Green handling U.S. theatrical distribution during the 2016 holiday season. Principal photography will commence later this month in Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Hendricks will be seen later this year opposite Ice Cube and Charlie Day in the comedy Fist Fight, and will also reunite with her Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn for his L.A.-set horror film The Neon Demon. She can soon be seen starring in the new drama series, “Hap and Leonard” for Sundance TV, which will premiere on March 9.
(Photo credit: WENN)
