After almost twelve years of "will there or won't there be a BAD SANTA 2," Miramax and Broad Green Pictures have officially announced that filming for the sequel will begin this January in Montreal, and the plan is to release it during the 2016 holiday season.
In a press release, Miramax’s EVP of Film & TV Zanne Devine said “We’ve been waiting far too long to see Billy Bob’s Willie Stokes 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.” Broad Green Pictures CEO Gabriel Hammond and CCO Daniel Hammond also added that "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.”
Although Billy Bob Thornton will be back as Stokes, Terry Zwigoff, who directed the original movie, won't be behind the camera for the follow-up. Doug Ellin (ENTOURAGE) was attached to helm the sequel (and earlier this year said he was hopeful that it would head into production this fall), but there's no mention of the filmmaker in the press release, so it's possible he is now off of the project. Actually, there's no word on who will be directing or who wrote the script. What do you think Thornton's Willie Stokes will be up to in BAD SANTA 2?