Santa Switched with Satan in New Christmas Movie…and the Internet Isn’t Having It
Movieguide® Contributor
A new controversial movie with Jack Black depicts a boy’s effort to write a letter to Santa, but when he accidentally misspells his name…another being appears.
“Paramount+ received swift pushback on social media after releasing a trailer for the upcoming holiday flick, DEAR SANTA, set to hit the streaming service Nov. 25, just ahead of Thanksgiving Day,” Faithwire reported Nov. 18.
After little Liam Turner mails off his letter to Santa (spelled Satan), he gets a visit from the devil, who will grant three wishes in exchange for the boy’s soul.
“You, my friend, are getting three wishes,” says the devil, who’s played by Black. “By the way, after you make your wishes, I’m taking your soul.”
Satan tells Liam he is “way better than Santa” and shows him “few of the things I can do for you.” The trailer shows Liam gambling and hanging out with Post Malone.
It “also features numerous shots in which Black flashes his familiar ‘devil horns’ hand signal, including while reading with Liam and playing a game of ‘beer pong,’” The Christian Post added.
READ MORE: JACK BLACK JOINS CAST OF MINECRAFT MOVIE
But Satan’s efforts may just go to waste. At one point, Black’s character cries out that Liam “is incorruptible.”
Despite that, the movie is getting a lot of criticism online.
Faithwire reported:
One Instagram user who commented on a Paramount+ post about the film wrote he or she won’t be “wasting … time watching a movie that’s glorifying Satan.”
Another wrote, “Yep, the normalization of Satan continues. Don’t fall for it folks. Jesus is King.”
“Hollywood is the new Satanic cult,” added one more commenter.
There were some, though, who saw the film as telling a harmless, creative story.
“I don’t get why people are hating this,” someone added. “It looks like [a] dumb fun Christmas film that is not meant to be taken serious[ly] and I am all here for it. I know I will have fun watching it.”
Someone else commented, “I worked on this set as a customer. It was a blast working on this movie. Jack is awesome. You should see it. I think you would like it. I hope you enjoy.”
DEAR SANTA was created by Bobby and Peter Farrelly, who made the DUMB AND DUMBER movies.
Black was raised in a Jewish home but now considers himself an atheist.
“I don’t have any real spirituality in my life — I’m kind of an atheist — but when music can take me to the highest heights, it’s almost like a spiritual feeling. It fills that void for me,” Black said previously.
Black has two major upcoming movies, THE MINECRAFT MOVIE and JUMANJI 3, where he, hopefully, will represent less devilish characters.
READ MORE: JUMANJI 3 SCORES 2026 PREMIERE DATE
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