We already know that we will be reunited with grungy, booze-soaked hustler, thief and occasional mall Santa Willie T. Stokes. Now we know someone else who will show up with him, as Kathy Bates has joined Billy Bob Thornton in Bad Santa 2.
Given that she’s playing his mother, we may finally discover one reason why Willie is quite as bad as he is. While she’s a newcomer to the world of Bad Santa, two veterans are now ready to return with Tony Cox (Willie’s double-crossing accomplice, Marcus) and Brett Kelly, who played Thurman Merman, AKA “The Kid” in the original on board. Wonder what will have become of that “kid”, particularly as by now he’s in his 20s…
Mark Waters is directing the new comedy, working from a script that has seen drafts by Johnny Rosenthal, Doug Ellin and Shauna Cross. He starts shooting in January in Montreal, ready for a Christmas 2016 release.
Bates has been spending a lot of her time appearing as various characters in the different seasons of anthology TV series American Horror Story. She’ll be back on the big screen in a few movies, including The Great Gilly Hopkins and Melissa McCarthy’s latest, The Boss, which is out here on June 10 next year.