Arnold Schwarzenegger Takes the Reins as Santa Claus in Heist-Filled “The Man with the Bag” Trailer
Arnold Schwarzenegger Takes the Reins as Santa Claus in Heist-Filled “The Man with the Bag” Trailer
Tommy McArdleWed, September 30, 2026 at 2:06 PM UTC
2
Alan Ritchson and Arnold Schwarzenegger on the set of The Man with the BagCredit: Clay Enos / Amazon MGM Studios -
Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Santa Claus in the trailer for his new Christmas movie The Man with the Bag
The movie follows Santa as he recruits a thief to help him recover his stolen magic bag in order to make the winter holiday happen
The Man with the Bag begins streaming globally on Prime Video Dec. 2
Arnold Schwarzenegger is playing Santa Claus in his new movie.
On Wednesday, Sept. 30, Prime Video released the trailer for Schwarzenegger’s new holiday-themed comedy The Man with the Bag, in which Santa recruits a thief named Vance (Alan Ritchson) to help him recover the magic bag that allows Christmas to happen after it is stolen by one of his own elves (Awkwafina). The new movie comes 30 years after Schwarzenegger starred in the 1990s holiday favorite, Jingle All the Way.
“When Santa’s iconic red bag is stolen by a rogue elf with a grudge, Christmas is suddenly at risk,” reads an official synopsis for the movie. “With his biggest night of the year fast-approaching, Santa recruits a thief (Ritchson, 43) 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.”
The cast for Schwarzenegger and Ritchson’s new movie is rounded out by Berkeley James, Michael Cyril Creighton, Liza Koshy, Saturday Night Live alumnus Kyle Mooney, Jane Krakowski and Ken Jeong.
The action-comedy is the second movie directed by Adam Shankman in 2026 after Stop! That! Train!, which hit theaters earlier this year. The movie was written by Allan Rice (Stuck in the Middle, Call Your Mother). According to the synopsis, 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.”
Advertisement
The Man with the Bag will mark Schwarzenegger’s first acting appearance in a film since 2019’s Terminator: Dark Fate. He even references his iconic role in the Terminator franchise at the end of the new teaser, when he (as Santa) says, “I’m back!” Most recently, Schwarzenegger acted in the second season of his Netflix series FUBAR. He is also gearing up to film a new entry in the Conan the Barbarian franchise in 2027.
— sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The Man with the Bag posterCredit: Amazon MGM Studios
Ritchson most recently appeared in the movies War Machine and Runner, on top of his highly popular Prime Video action series Reacher.
The Man with the Bag begins streaming globally on Prime Video Dec. 2.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
