When the Sun gets lower in the sky and the leaves start to turn colors it can only mean one thing: Christmas movie trailers. Sure, the spooky season might be on deck, but Hollywood has to start hyping its fare for the most wonderful time of the year. And this holiday season, a big name is going to play the big guy. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Santa Claus in Prime Video‘s The Man With the Bag, and the film’s first trailer reveals he’s not even the biggest actor in the movie.
Sure, why not? Let’s get real silly. Why shouldn’t Arnold Schwarzenegger play Santa? It’s what we deserve, we guess. And why shouldn’t Mad Libs get a “story by” credit, you know? Here’s what it came up with for the latest Christmas movie from the star of Jingle All The Way:
When Santa’s iconic red bag is stolen by a rogue elf with a grudge, Christmas is suddenly at risk. With his biggest night of the year fast-approaching, Santa recruits a thief from his ‘Naughty List’ who quickly assembles a crew of criminally skilled misfits — with a little help from elves and reindeer — to pull off the most unexpected heist of their lives.
Prime Video also says The Man with the Bag is a “holiday heist adventure” about “second chances, unlikely friendships, and discovering that sometimes even Santa needs a little help delivering Christmas.”
Well, yeah. That’s why he has elves. He always needs help delivering Christm…no. No. We said we’re gonna get silly, and silly is what we’re going to do.
Joining Arnold Schwarzenegger as Santa in The Man with the Bag is Awkwafina, who plays the vengeful elf who threatens Christmas. Reacher star and large man Alan Ritchson plays the crook Santa turns to for help. The movie also stars Berkeley James, Michael Cyril Creighton, Liza Koshy, Kyle Mooney, Jane Krakowski, and Ken Jeong.
The Man With the Bag comes from director Adam Shankman (Hairspray, A Walk to Remember). Allan Rice (Stuck in the Middle) wrote the script.
Will Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Santa movie spread holiday cheer? We’ll find out after the spooky season ends and Christmas movie trailers become Christmas movie releases. And this one will arrive on Prime Video December 2, 2026.