Violent Night Producer Kelly McCormick Pinpoints What Most American Action Movies Are Missing
by Joe Roberts · /FilmSanta's back to spread cheer and merriment with "Violent Night 2." Just kidding. The sequel to 2022's "Violent Night" will see David Harbour's St. Nick fighting even more bad guys in a follow-up that, judging by the "Violent Night 2" trailer, will live up to its title even more so than the original. Director Tommy Wirkola returns for the sequel, which is also shepherded by action maestro David Leitch's 87North Productions. Leitch and his wife Kelly McCormick serve as producers, and /Film's Ethan Anderton caught up with the latter to ask about American action movies and what they can learn from their foreign counterparts. For McCormick, it's all about the emotion and conveying a character arc through combat.
Harbour's Santa absolutely slays in the cult Christmas classic "Violent Night," saving Christmas by beating up henchmen and rescuing a family being held hostage. The movie saw this jaded version of Father Christmas battle his way through intense brawls that showcased some incredibly impressive (and savage) action, making for a delightfully unhinged festive film. We expected nothing less considering Leitch and his company were on board. The former stuntman and choreographer has been working in action since the '90s, earning plaudits for his contributions to the Jason Bourne movies before breaking out as a director with 2014's "John Wick." That same year, he married McCormick, who has since served as his producing partner, working on everything from "Deadpool 2" to "Atomic Blonde" and the "Nobody" films. She's forgotten more about action movies than many people will ever know.
Asked what she looks for in such films that the average viewer might overlook, she summed up her approach in a wonderfully succinct way. "I come to action through the fact that I believe that it is a physical manifestation of melodrama." Unfortunately, in her view, not every filmmaker follows that approach.
Kelly McCormick wants action movies to be more emotion-based
If there's any doubt about who's doing it best, just look at the best action movie of 2026: "The Furious." The Hong Kong actioner from Kenji Tanigaki was a completely off-the-wall revenge movie packed with some of the most insane action sequences you'll ever see. The entire thing was also propelled by a simple story of a father trying to rescue his kidnapped daughter. For Kelly McCormick (above left with Wirkola), that emotional element is just as important as the action itself.
Asked about the lessons American action movies still need to learn, the "Violent Night 2" producer said, "That it's emotion-based." She elaborated, pointing to the way spectacle can often overshadow the emotional, character-based aspects of the combat:
"I think if it's just spectacle or if it's just a lot of punching and kicking, there's no connection to the audience and to the audience's experience of the action. And so I think what David [Leitch] and I are always trying to do, and I think what international cinema is doing potentially better than a lot of American films, is looking for that first. You can make great action with a lot of money, and you can make great action with a little money. And the key is to make the great action, but the only way to make connective action is if it's relating to the character."
There's no doubt we've seen a glut of films that rely on spectacle but ultimately drift in and out of the visual cortex without doing much but prompting some significant eye-glazing. Even 2023's "John Wick: Chapter 4" was arguably proof that an action movie can have too much action, and Leitch had an executive producer credit on that film (though his longtime partner Chad Stahelski directed).
Kelly McCormick values drama over spectacle
For Kelly McCormick, making action movies is all about heightening the drama of the story. As she told /Film, "I am looking for melodrama, basically, that the action can punctuate. And so I think for 87 North movies, it's about the underpinnings of the themes in the heart and the character arc that allow for you to construct an action arc around that character's arc." In assessing the viability of "Violent Night 2," McCormick asked herself an important question. "If there wasn't any action in 'Violent Night 2,' could Santa still exist?" This idea, she says, is what she's looking for "in all the movies that we make." It's only after answering that question that the producer goes on to ask, "How can that action be as big and amazing or be intimate and special that is needed at any given time to make the arc even better with action?"
It's an important process that's overlooked by many modern action movies. Take the "Extraction" films, which play like extended action montages wherein Chris Hemsworth's Tyler Rake shoots his way through set-pieces punctuated only by an occasional scene of him crying over home videos of his family frolicking on the beach. Despite being a Netflix success, 2023's "Extraction 2" was an exhausting and dour return to the world of Tyler Rake, marketed on the strength of its action logistics — most notably a 21-minute oner that was really just multiple shots stitched together.
It remains to be seen just how emotional and melodramatic a story about Santa killing hordes of thugs can be, but the first one managed a decent balance in that regard. We'll see if McCormick and co. have done it again when "Violent Night 2" hits theaters on December 4, 2026.