Thirty years after playing a desperate father hunting for a Turbo-Man toy in Jingle All the Way, Arnold Schwarzenegger is returning to Christmas movies with a considerably different role: Santa Claus himself.
Prime Video released the first teaser for The Man With the Bag on Sept. 30, introducing Schwarzenegger as a Santa who must recruit a professional thief after his magical gift bag is stolen by a rogue elf played by Awkwafina.
With Christmas in jeopardy, Santa turns to his Naughty List and tracks down Vance, a criminal played by Reacher star Alan Ritchson. Vance assembles an unlikely crew to recover the missing bag, with elves and reindeer joining the operation.
The teaser closes with Schwarzenegger looking directly into the camera and delivering a familiar line from his action-movie career: “I’m back.”
Schwarzenegger Takes Over as Santa 30 Years After ‘Jingle All the Way’
Schwarzenegger previously entered the holiday-movie world in the 1996 comedy Jingle All the Way, playing Howard Langston, a workaholic father scrambling to find the season’s most sought-after action figure for his son on Christmas Eve.
In The Man With the Bag, the actor trades the crowded toy stores and shopping chaos for a Christmas heist that puts Santa’s entire operation at risk.
According to Amazon’s official synopsis, the film combines action and comedy with a story about second chances and unlikely friendships. Santa’s decision to seek help from someone on his Naughty List brings together characters who would ordinarily have little reason to work with one another.
Alan Ritchson Leads Santa’s Team of Criminal Misfits
Ritchson’s Vance is an experienced thief whose particular skills become essential to retrieving Santa’s stolen property. The assignment requires him to bring together a group of criminally skilled misfits for a mission unlike any ordinary robbery.
Awkwafina plays the disgruntled elf responsible for the theft. The ensemble also includes Liza Koshy, Kyle Mooney, Jane Krakowski, Ken Jeong, Berkeley James and Michael Cyril Creighton.
Director Adam Shankman, whose previous credits include Hairspray and Rock of Ages, helmed the film from a screenplay by Allan Rice. Ritchson also serves as one of its producers.
‘The Man With the Bag’ Marks Schwarzenegger’s Feature Film Return
The holiday comedy is Schwarzenegger’s first acting role in a feature film since Terminator: Dark Fate in 2019. He has remained active on television, starring in Netflix’s action-comedy series FUBAR, which premiered in 2023.
PEOPLE highlighted the teaser’s closing reference to the Terminator franchise, giving Schwarzenegger an opportunity to revisit one of his signature catchphrases in a family-oriented comedy.
The Man With the Bag will premiere worldwide on Prime Video on Dec. 2, 2026.