Olivia Wilde is heading back behind the camera for “Naughty.” While promoting her latest film, “The Invite,” on the new episode of SmartLess, Wilde revealed near the end of the conversation that she is shooting a new movie, reportedly in August, which she described as a “Christmas comedy.”
That is clearly “Naughty,” the Universal holiday comedy Wilde has been attached to direct since late 2023. The project comes from “Cocaine Bear” screenwriter Jimmy Warden, with Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley, and Josey McNamara producing through LuckyChap.
READ MORE: ‘The Invite’ Review: RSVP To Olivia Wilde’s Scaled-Down Directorial Comeback Bid [Sundance]
The premise is very much not the traditional Christmas-movie package. “Naughty” follows Mallory, a single mother trying to win custody of her son from her awful ex. Her only shot, apparently, is to find Santa Claus and convince him to testify in her divorce hearing. The project was previously described as “Bridesmaids” in the North Pole, with shades of “Bad Santa” and “Young Adult” as well.
Warden wrote “Naughty” as a spec script, and Universal picked up the package after Wilde and LuckyChap came aboard. The project also extends Warden’s relationship with LuckyChap: his “Borderline,” starring Samara Weaving, was a 2020 Black List script before becoming his feature directorial debut.
The update also provides a likely title for the next film, which Wilde recently described as “hilarious and heartbreaking.” Given the custody-battle premise, the divorce-hearing absurdity, and the search for Santa Claus, “Naughty” seems built for exactly that split: a big, raunchy Christmas comedy with a wounded emotional spine underneath it. It is also hard to miss the potential personal charge here. A few years ago, Wilde was served custody papers onstage at CinemaCon while presenting “Don’t Worry Darling,” a moment she later described as deeply upsetting. Jason Sudeikis, her former partner, later said he had no prior knowledge of the timing or location of the delivery, but the public spectacle was still one of the more surreal Hollywood divorce/custody-battle flashpoints in recent memory.
It also follows Wilde’s triumphant directing return with the fabulous and emotionally intelligent “The Invite,” her English-language remake of Cesc Gay’s Spanish film “The People Upstairs.” That film, which Wilde directed and stars in alongside Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, and Edward Norton, reminded audiences of how sharp and nimble she can be in adult comedy, especially when the material allows her characters to be messy, funny, and emotionally exposed.
“Naughty” will mark Wilde’s fourth feature as a director, following “Booksmart,” “Don’t Worry Darling,” and “The Invite.” No cast has been announced yet, and Universal has not dated the film, but Wilde’s “SmartLess” comments make clear the project is no longer just sitting on the shelf. The Christmas comedy is next, and it sounds like production is close.
Rodrigo Perez is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Playlist, which he launched in 2008. He has worked in entertainment journalism since 2000, including at MTV, and has written for SPIN, IndieWire, Pitchfork, Complex, Magnet, and various music, film, and entertainment publications over the past two decades.
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