It’s been awhile since Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in the 1996 holiday classic “Jingle All the Way,” in which he hilariously tussled with comedian Sinbad to purchase the holiday season’s most coveted toy.
Now, the “Terminator” star is returning to the holiday genre with a new Christmas movie set for release later this year on Prime Video.
‘The Man with the Bag’
In “The Man with the Bag,” Schwarzenegger goes full yuletide as he plays none other than Santa Claus himself.
Meanwhile, he’ll be joining forces with another action hero: “Reacher” star Alan Ritchson, his co-star in the upcoming yuletide comedy.
“When Santa’s (Schwarzenegger) iconic red bag is stolen by a rogue elf with a grudge (Awkwafina), Christmas is suddenly at risk. With his biggest night of the year fast-approaching, Santa recruits a thief (Ritchson) from his ‘Naughty List’ who quickly assembles a crew of criminally skilled misfits — with a little help from elves and reindeer — to pull off the most unexpected heist of their lives,” reads the movie’s synopsis.
“Packed with holiday magic, big laughs, and plenty of heart, ‘The Man with the Bag’ is a holiday heist adventure about second chances, unlikely friendships, and discovering that sometimes even Santa needs a little help delivering Christmas,” the synopsis concludes.
His First Christmas Movie in 30 Years
In addition to Schwarzenegger, Ritchson and Awkwafina, “The Man with the Bag” also stars Berkeley James, Michael Cyril Creighton, Liza Koshy, Kyle Mooney, Jane Krakowski and “The Masked Singer” favorite Ken Jeong.
Adam Shankman (whose big-screen hits include “Hairspray,” “Step Up” and “Disenchanted”) directed the film from a script written by Allan Rice.
Producers include Lawrence Grey, Ben Everard, Reg Tigerman, Dan Spilo, and Alan Ritchson.
The film will drop December 2 on Prime Video.
A Lesson on Fame
During Ritchson’s recent appearance on Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast, he shared a big lesson he learned from Schwarzenegger while they worked together on the film.
“It was a treat,” said Ritchson, via The Hollywood Reporter. “He taught me a lot about how gratitude should manifest in the life of somebody dealing with fame.”
As Ritchson explained, his rising career has made him aware of “how present fame is and how toxic and intrusive” it can be. Schwarzenegger, however, helped him gain a fresh perspective.
“I worked with Arnold, who deals with this on a degree that I will probably never experience,” Ritchson explained.
“He’s dealt with it for decades on a degree that I can’t quite understand. He stops for everybody. We would be in the middle of a scene in a diner and people would be banging on the glass because our lockup wasn’t tight enough. They’re like, ‘Oh my God, will you take a picture with us?’ [He says], ‘Oh, be right there. Come outside and take a picture with us.’ He has no problem. He makes time for everybody. And so I look at that and I’m like, ‘If this is his attitude, I have no excuse.’ … He showed me something really interesting in the way that he approaches life and his lot in life. And I really deeply admire how he treats people,” he added.
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Arnold Schwarzenegger Teams Up with Alan Ritchson in New Christmas Movie: Watch the Trailer