Thunderbolts*’ David Harbour on Movie’s Violent Night Santa Claus Easter Egg

As a potential Easter egg for the film Violent Night that appears in Marvel’s Thunderbolts* has fans intrigued, actor David Harbour has come out with an explanation regarding the line. In a recently released promotional video for the upcoming MCU outing, Julia Louis-Dreyfus‘s Valentina Allegra de Fontaine mocks Harbour’s Alexei Shostakov, aka Red Guardian, by calling him “old Santa.” Upon hearing this remark, several fans highlighted that this could be a reference to David Harbour’s portrayal of Santa Claus in the 2022 action comedy Violent Night. Here’s what the Stranger Things star had to say about the matter.

David Harbour isn’t sure if ‘old Santa’ remark in Thunderbolts* is a Violent Night Easter egg

In a recent interview, David Harbour addressed the fan theory connecting his role in Thunderbolts* to his character in Violent Night. While the 50-year-old actor remarked that the reference could’ve been a coincidence, he stated that the possibility of it being a call-back does exist.

While speaking with ComicBook.com about Thunderbolts*’ “old Santa” comment, Harbour noted, “I do not believe it was, but I think it was in, Julia [Louis-Dreyfus] said it might have been improv, but I think it was in an early script, and I know that the earliest script of this was written by Eric Pearson, who had written Black Widow and who’s a buddy of mine and who I really love, and I know Eric likes to make fun of me. And so I imagine that it could have been, but I never spoke to him about it.”

In the Tommy Wirkola film Violent Night, Harbour plays a version of Santa Claus who was once a menacing Viking called Nikamund the Red. However, after embarking on a reflective journey, Harbour’s character decides to give up his savage ways to become Santa.

Despite the similarities between David Harbour’s roles in Violent Night and Thunderbolts*, the actor’s comments seem to indicate that the “old Santa” remark in the Marvel film may have been a humorous allusion to his take as Santa Claus for fans of the actor.

Fans can see Harbour reprise his role of Red Guardian in the Thunderbolts* when it hits theaters on May 2, 2025.

Originally reported by Apoorv Rastogi on SuperHeroHype.

Source: Comingsoon.net