Arnold Schwarzenegger and Alan Ritchson are finally sharing the screen, as the two action stars come together for the first time in The Man with the Bag, a Christmas comedy made for Prime Video whose first trailer has just dropped. As you can see for yourself, Arnold Schwarzenegger plays none other than Santa Claus, red suit and snow-white beard included. After his magic sack full of presents is stolen, Father Christmas has to find a way to save Christmas. That's when he hits on the idea of calling in Vance, a former burglar played by Alan Ritchson, whose particular set of skills will come in very handy for getting back what was nicked. So Santa puts together a crew and plans a full-blown heist to lay his hands on his sack again.
Awkwafina rounds out the main trio as a rebellious elf who gets dragged into the whole business, while the cast also features Berkeley James, Michael Cyril Creighton, Liza Koshy, Kyle Mooney, Jane Krakowski and Ken Jeong. Behind the camera is Adam Shankman, directing his second film of 2026 after the comedy Stop! That! Train! Doesn't ring a bell? Don't worry, it doesn't for me either.
The film was shot over the winter of 2024 in New York, nearly two years ago, and Amazon has naturally held it back for the festive season. Casting Schwarzenegger as Santa also allows for a little nod to his own filmography, given he already headlined Jingle All the Way, the 1996 Christmas comedy. Thirty years on, the actor is back in the holiday spirit, this time with a good deal more action.
As for Alan Ritchson, The Man with the Bag arrives after a particularly busy 2026, with the Reacher star appearing this year in War Machine and the action comedy Runner. He had already featured in Playdate for Prime Video and is soon to play Navy SEAL Mike Thornton in a biopic, again for Amazon. The film also marks Arnold Schwarzenegger's return to the big screen after Terminator: Dark Fate, released in 2019. Since then the actor has mostly stuck to television with FUBAR, whose first two seasons he headlined on Netflix.
See you on 2 December to find out whether it's worth working through the mince pies in front of it.
