While promoting his upcoming Amazon original series Goliath, Billy Bob Thornton fielded some questions from reporters about his role in the highly anticipated sequel, Bad Santa 2. We got the first teaser for the film not too long ago, but here, the actor reveals that they’ve gone a little farther this time, which means it’s going to get a lot nastier.
“I think we pushed it even a little further this time, not only in the sort of dark humor but also in the emotion,” Thornton said. “This one has more of a heart, more of a story you would say, but it also went a little further with some of the nasty stuff.”
Bad Santa did push the envelope a bit back when it was released, but over the years, comedy in film has continued to break through new boundaries, a fact that Thornton is well aware of.
“We try to keep up with the times,” he said, when asked about the current competition in the genre.
It’s still a bit early to make any judgements here, as the first teaser was just that, a teaser, and didn’t really show us anything substantial. That being said, there’s a strong cast and crew attached to the sequel and for now, we’re hopeful that they can recapture the magic of the original. After all, there’s no reason to think that they won’t be able to.
Directed by Mark Waters and also starring Kathy Bates and Christina Hendricks, Bad Santa 2 will swagger into theatres on November 23rd, 2016.