FIRST LOOK: Arnold Schwarzenegger is Santa in The Man With the Bag, coming this Christmas

May 20th, 2026 by Marc Comments

Looks like this Christmas we’ll be spending some time with Arnold Schwarzenegger as none other than Santa Claus!

Yes, Prime Video’s festive action comedy starring Arnie and Alan Ritchson is set for release on December 2nd, just ahead of the real big man heading down all our chimneys.

Directed by Adam Shankman, the movie is penned by Allan Rice and has Arnie as Santa and Ritchson as a former thief called Vance, whom Santa hires when his magic sack, holding the presents for boys and girls across the world, is stolen. It also stars Ken Jeong, Awkwafina, Kyle Mooney, Jane Krakowski, Murray Hill, and Liza Koshy.


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It’s wild to think that Schwarzenegger, who we always associate with movies like Terminator and Predator, is now 78 and is playing Santa… time really does fly.

Anyway, while you’re thinking about what you’re asking for this year, check out the two behind-the-scenes images from the movie (above and below) and expect a trailer in the coming weeks.

I love Christmas, and I love Schwarzenegger, so this is one I will be kicking off the festive season with for sure.

Thoughts? I know you have them, and I wanna hear ’em all.


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Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….