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John Woo, one of the all-time greats of Hong Kong cinema and the mastermind behind a few of the best action flicks of all time, is about to come out with a Christmas movie. Sure, it’s a Christmas action movie, but a Christmas movie nonetheless. If this is the first you’re hearing about Silent Night, which shouldn’t be confused with the 2021 Keira Knightley movie of the same name, don’t worry, because we’re about to break it down.
If you want to know about the film’s release date, who makes up its cast, and what you can expect from what can best be described as a holiday revenge movie, stick around and check out everything we know about Silent Night.
What Is The Silent Night Release Date?
With Silent Night being a Christmas action movie, it only makes sense for it to come out in the weeks leading up to the big holiday, and that’s exactly what’s happening. The new John Woo thriller will premiere theatrically on December 1, 2023. This will put it up against Renaissance: A Film by Beyonce, the highly anticipated concert film bringing Queen B’s latest tour to the big screen.
The final month of the 2023 release calendar was also supposed to kick off with Tom Hardy’s The Bikeriders, but the drama also starring Austin Butler and Jodie Comer was taken off the schedule in October due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, according to Variety. The rest of the month is filled with massive releases, though, as Poor Things, Wonka, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and The Color Purple are all set for December debuts.
Joel Kinnaman Leads The Silent Night Cast
Silent Night features a small yet talented group of actors, though their characters’ names have not yet been revealed by Lionsgate, who is releasing the new movie. Leading the ensemble is Joel Kinnaman, who will be taking on the role of grieving father coming to terms with the sudden loss of his son in a bloody and violent way.
Kinnaman – who is best known for his portrayal of Rick Flag in The Suicide Squad as well as his work on The Killing and For All Mankind – will be joined in Silent Night by Scott Mescudi (better known by his stage name Kid Cudi), Harold Torres, and Catalina Sandino Moreno. Expect to hear more about the characters as well as additional stars as we get closer to the film’s debut
The Silent Night Trailer Teases Action, Revenge, And Classic Christmas Songs
The world got to pull back the wrapping paper of the proverbial Christmas present in October 2023 when Lionsgate released the first Silent Night trailer. This two-minute-and-change trailer does an impressive job of setting the stage for the bloody and violent action thriller that’s to come. It teases the film’s action, a story of revenge, and it features one of the best uses in recent memory of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” which has become a Christmastime staple despite not originally starting out as a holiday track.
If the trailer is any indication of what’s to come, then fans of the genre, especially the work of John Woo over, will be in for one hell of a ride when Silent Night opens in December. And who knows, maybe we’ll have another must-watch Christmas movie added to marathons for years to come.
Silent Night Follows A Father On A One-Man Revenge Mission Following The Death Of His Son On Christmas Eve
Silent Night will show what happens when a father picks the most extreme grieving process, in that he decides to get back at those who shot and killed his son via rampaging violence. Lionsgate has announced that the revenge thriller will revolve around Joel Kinniman’s character after his young son is caught in the crossfire of a shootout on Christmas Eve. Instead of letting things go and waiting for justice to work things out, the grief-stricken vigilante, who also lost his voice in the shooting, decides to take matters into his own hands.
Silent Night Won’t Have Any Dialogue
People hoping to hear an epic monologue, watch a tearful father tell the bad guys why he’s come back for revenge, or pick up a new action movie catchphrase to add to the rotation hopefully won’t be too let down, as Silent Night won’t have any dialogue. As hard as that is to believe, producer Erica Lee, who also worked on John Wick: Chapter 4, told Collider in March 2023 that the movie will be very light on speaking, saying:
It really has no dialogue. It was another spec script that I was given and read, and I was like, ‘This is going to be a genius move or a disaster, there’s no in between.’ It’s execution dependent for sure. I mean, John Woo kills it. Joel Kinnaman is the star and really delivers. I mean, there’s some ambient noise and background and chatter like radio and stuff like that. But, yeah, it’s awesome. I can’t wait for you to see it.
In a June 2022 interview with Collider, Joel Kinnaman described Silent Night as a “very dynamic action movie” but also one with a “pretty simple” plot that audiences will be able to follow without any dialogue to explain everything. Instead, the RoboCop star said the emotion is “through the eyes and through the action.”
This Is John Woo’s First American Movie In 20 Years
As hard as it is to believe, Silent Night will be John Woo’s first American movie in 20 years, as his last Hollywood project was Paycheck, the 2003 sci-fi action film starring Ben Affleck, Aaron Eckhart, and Uma Thurman. In the years since then, the filmmaker, who almost directed Goldeneye, has worked on projects like Red Cliff, Reign of Assassins, and The Crossing.
All of this comes years after Woo made a name for himself as one of the most inventive names in the action world, with films like Hard Boiled, A Better Tomorrow, and The Killer all becoming staples of the genre. His other American projects include titles like Mission: Impossible 2, Face/Off, and Broken Arrow.
This isn’t all that much time until John Woo and Joel Kinnaman bring a bag full of awesome action scenes, holiday cheer, and ice cold revenge. In the meantime, check out the latest on the eternal Die Hard Christmas movie debate.