Arnold Schwarzenegger's New Movie Is Something We've Wanted For 28 Years (2024)

Arnold Schwarzenegger is mostly known for his action movie roles, from his run as the Terminator in the Terminator franchise to playing Trench Mauser in The Expendables series, but Schwarzenegger's next project will finally satisfy those who enjoyed the actor's family comedy from 1996. Schwarzenegger has an impressive filmography full of box-office hits and fan-favorite movies (with the occasional box-office bomb and critically ridiculed film, just like any other star). While his number of projects has significantly dwindled in recent years, Schwarzenegger's career is alive and well, proven by his upcoming exciting movie similar to one from the 1990s.

As mentioned above, Schwarzenegger's most memorable roles are primarily his characters in action movies. When many think of Schwarzenegger, the first thing that comes to mind is The Terminator (or its superior sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day). However, the actor has also appeared in a handful of comedies, including Kindergarten Cop and Twins, and one of Schwarzenegger's best comedic roles comes from an underrated holiday film. Thankfully, Schwarzenegger is set to star in a similar project sometime in the near future.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Is Finally Making Another Christmas Movie After Jingle All The Way

Twenty-eight years following his starring role in the 1996 Christmas family comedy Jingle All the Way, Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to appear in another holiday movie — The Man With the Bag. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Schwarzenegger will star alongside Alan Ritchson in the Amazon MGM Studios Christmas family comedy. It will be directed by Adam Shankman, who is known for helming A Walk to Remember, Bringing Down the House, The Pacifier, and Hairspray, while Allan Rice wrote the script. Unfortunately, it's unclear when The Man With the Bag will premiere, but it likely won't be ready for 2024's holiday season.

Schwarzenegger has not starred in a holiday project since his role as Howard Langston/Turbo-Man in Jingle All the Way. So, the casting news surrounding The Man With the Bag is undoubtedly exciting and something that fans of the 1996 Christmas film have been waiting a long time for. Plus, given Schwarzenegger's scarce movie roles in recent years, any news about him appearing in upcoming films is welcomed with open arms. The actor's most recent movie role was as the Terminator in Terminator: Dark Fate in 2019, but Schwarzenegger did star in the Netflix action-comedy television series FUBAR in 2023.

Why Arnold Schwarzenegger Didn't Make A Jingle All The Way 2

Arnold Schwarzenegger never made a sequel to Jingle All the Way, but his reluctance to continue the Christmas family comedy's story isn't uncommon for the actor. Aside from his role as the Terminator in the Terminator movie series, Schwarzenegger does not appear in sequels to his hit films. Schwarzenegger made an exception for The Expendables as a favor to Sylvester Stallone, but other than that, he has made it clear that he typically isn't interested in making sequels. Consequently, he wasn't involved with Jingle All the Way 2.

Even though Schwarzenegger didn't want to make a sequel to the 1996 holiday movie, 20th Century Fox went forward with one anyway, and Jingle All the Way 2 premiered on December 2, 2014. The film had no concrete connection to the original (it only shared the same name) and starred Larry the Cable Guy. Unfortunately, the direct-to-video sequel received negative reviews from critics, and Jingle All the Way 2 is one of the more forgettable Christmas movies, unlike Schwarzenegger's Jingle All the Way.

Why Arnold Schwarzenegger's New Christmas Movie Is Surprising But Exciting

After more than 20 years of waiting for Arnold Schwarzenegger to star in another holiday film following Jingle All the Way, the actor has signed on to play one of the lead roles in The Man With the Bag. Not much is known about the upcoming movie, but Amazon released a brief synopsis of its story along with Schwarzenegger's casting news. The Man With the Bag centers around the pursuit to find who stole Santa Claus's missing magic bag before Christmas Day. After realizing it is missing, Santa enlists the help of a former thief and his daughter to find the bag.

Although his role wasn't specifically detailed in the report, one can assume that Schwarzenegger is playing Santa in The Man With the Bag. If he is playing Kris Kringle, then it's likely that Alan Ritchson will star as the reformed thief in the upcoming holiday movie. Nevertheless, people who loved Jingle All the Way will hopefully enjoy Arnold Schwarzenegger's next Christmas project.

Jingle All the Way

PG

Adventure

Comedy

Family

Holiday

Where to Watch

*Availability in US

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Jingle All The Way is a Christmas-themed comedy film by director Brian Levant, released in 1996. After a business-focused father fails to procure a wildly popular toy for his son before Christmas, he must head on a city-wide hunt to find one. His hunt is complicated further when he's forced to go head-to-head with a postal worker on the same quest, leading to a series of ever-escalating events during the holiday season.

Director

Brian Levant

Release Date

November 22, 1996

Writers

Randy Kornfield

Cast

Arnold Schwarzenegger , Sinbad , Phil Hartman , Rita Wilson , Robert Conrad , Jake Lloyd , Jim Belushi

Runtime

89 Minutes

Source: The Hollywood Reporter