Kurt Russell is putting his amazing beard to good use this holiday season. Netflix has signed the actor to portray the one and only Santa Claus in a new family film and while that sounds absolutely nuts on paper, it actually kind of works. “The Christmas Chronicles” shows Russell as a new type of Santa. He’s not the jolly, fat, old guy from the North Pole. Russell’s Santa is charming, svelte, and sort of a badass. In other words, it’s Kurt Russell as Santa Claus. And no, he doesn’t say “Ho, ho, ho.”
In the new trailer for the Netflix film, we see the basic premise for “The Christmas Chronicles.” Some kids are trying to prove that Santa is real, by shooting video of his magical present delivery. Then, through some contrived hijinks, the kids find themselves joining Santa as they attempt to save Christmas and make sure St. Nick can deliver all those presents to the children. It’s a family film, what do you expect?
“No one is better suited than Kurt Russell to bring our version of a rugged, charismatic, and hilarious Santa Claus to life. From our first meeting, he completely threw himself into this iconic role – and grew an impressive beard in the process. It has been a dream come true to work with Kurt in creating what I believe will be the new definition of Santa Claus for generations to come,” says director Clay Kaytis.
Producer Chris Columbus adds, “Kurt is the definitive Santa Claus. Charismatic, tough when needed with a wicked sense of humor. We’re really excited for audiences to see his performance onscreen and hope ‘The Christmas Chronicles’ becomes a timeless classic.”
“The Christmas Chronicles” hits Netflix on November 22.
Here’s the synopsis:
THE CHRISTMAS CHRONICLES, a holiday adventure from producer Chris Columbus (“Home Alone”, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”) and director Clay Kaytis (“The Angry Birds Movie”), tells the story of sister and brother, Kate (Darby Camp) and Teddy Pierce (Judah Lewis), whose Christmas Eve plan to catch Santa Claus (Kurt Russell) on camera turns into an unexpected journey that most kids could only dream about. After staking out Santa’s arrival, they sneak into his sleigh, cause it to crash and nearly derail Christmas. As their wild night unfolds, Kate and Teddy work together with Santa – as you’ve never seen him before – and his loyal Elves to save Christmas before it’s too late.