The long-rumored sequel to Bad Santa took another step towards becoming reality today with The Wrap reporting that Billy Bob Thornton is in talks to return to the franchise, being produced by The Weinstein Company in partnership with Miramax. “Officially in talks” is of course one step closer than the last time we heard about it, when it was Billy Bob reporting that “there’s been talk” of it. If everything goes well, and Billy Bob starts wearing Harvey Weinstein’s ring, they’ll be considered to be “going around,” and I don’t think I have to tell you how serious that is. As long as no one accidentally insults The Boxmasters, or makes him sit in antique furniture, or brings up Komodo dragons, everything should be fine.
Meanwhile, Tom Arnold is talking up a True Lies sequel now that Arnold Schwarzenegger is through playing governor. It would be a great role for Tom Arnold, because pretty much anything would be.
“We [Arnold and Schwarzenegger] have both read the script. There is a script that James Cameron and a guy named Jeff Eastin, who created the TV show ‘White Collar,’ wrote. It is really great. Jim can’t direct it. But he can produce it. We hope it gets done. We have a few fun things we want to do. I am supposed to remain cool about this. For me, it would be a lot of fun to work with the guys again.” [Movieweb via Moviefone]
True Lies is one of my favorite James Cameron movies, so I’d love to see a sequel. But keep in mind, “in talks” and “there’s been talk” are still four to five steps of development ahead of “Tom Arnold really wants to do it.”