John Leguizamo, Beverly D’Angelo, Alex Hassell and Alexis Louder have joined David Harbour in Universal’s Christmas action movie Violent Night.
David Leitch, Kelly McCormick and Guy Danella are producing the feature via their Universal-based 87North Banner, with the moviemakers hoping to replicate the success of their previous effort, the Bob Odenkirk sleeper action hit Nobody.
Tommy Wirkola (Dead Snow) is directing the project, which was written by scribes Patrick Casey and Josh Miller (Sonic the Hedgehog). Production is underway in Winnipeg.
The story is set on Christmas Eve at the estate of a wealthy family with its own Succession-style dynamics. A group of hardened mercenaries attack the mansion, and it will be up to a disillusioned Santa (Harbour) to dispense lumps of coal in a bone-crunching way and save Christmas.
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Leguizamo is the leader of the mercs, while D’Angelo is the matriarch who heads the family corporation and makes her kids fight for her love.
Hassell is one of D’Angelo’s grown children, while Louder is his estranged wife, forced to spend the holidays at the house so that the couple’s daughter can have a nice Christmas.
Universal Pictures’ executive vp production development Matt Reilly and director of production development Tony Ducret are overseeing for the studio.
Leguizamo voices the audience-favorite character of Bruno in Disney’s Encanto, which is coming off an Oscar nomination for best animated feature. Up next, he will be seen in Searchlight’s The Menu alongside Anya Taylor-Joy and Ralph Fiennes.
D’Angelo, who is perhaps best known for starring in the National Lampoon Vacation movies, last year appeared with Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline in The Good House, directed by Maya Forbes and Wallace Wolodarsky.
Hassell is part of the cast of Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, playing opposite Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand. He also had a leading role in Netflix’s short-lived Cowboy Bebop, playing the character Vicious.
Louder appeared in The Tomorrow War, Harriet and the Watchmen limited series. Next, she reteams with Chris Pratt for The Terminal List, an action series in post that will be released on Amazon.
Leguizamo is repped by UTA and Jackoway Tyerman, and D’Angelo is repped by LINK Entertainment. Hassell is repped by Gersh, United Agents and Magnolia Entertainment, while Louder is repped by Haven Entertainment, TalentWorks and Goodman Genow.
