‘Fatman’ First Look: Mel Gibson Is Santa Claus And Walton Goggins Wants To Kill Him
HitmanWalton Gogginsis going to try to kill Santa Claus, played byMel Gibson, inFatman, which has just been picked up by Saban Films. The dark comedy comes from writers-directorsEshomandIan Nelms(Small Town Crime,Waffle Street, Lost on Purpose), and follows a hitman who decides to bump off Old St. Nick. You can see the first look image of the film below.
Are you ready to see Mel Gibson as Santa? Well, here you go.
Admittedly, this doesn’t look very Santa-y, save for the beard, and even that doesn’t give off Santa vibes. But I guess Mel Gibson isn’t exactly a conventional Santa Claus, either. That’s probably why they cast him to begin with. InFatman, “a neglected and precocious 12-year-old…hires an unorthodox hitman to kill Santa Claus after receiving a lump of coal in his stocking.” We’ve all been there, right? Saban Films scooped up the rights to the film today. There’s no release date listed yet. Eshom and Ian Nelms write and direct, while Walton Goggins, Mel Gibson, andMarianne Jean-Baptistestar.
Saban Films' Bill Bromiley said: “This is our second collaboration with the Nelms brothers, and we couldn’t be more excited to bring another unique, thrilling movie of theirs to our audiences. Eshom and Ian are a talented duo, and we were hooked from script stage. This one is a fun ride.”
I’ll admit that I think this is a good concept, and could indeed make for a fun dark comedy. ButFatmanis also bound to garner some negative attention simply from Gibson’s presence. While the actor still works steadily and therefore is by no means “canceled”, he carries toxicity about him due to his past comments and actions. I think Gibson is a good actor, and he’ll probably do well here. Still…it’s always a bit jarring to see him pop-up in a film these days. Gibson was just in the direct-to-VOD filmForce of Nature. Other upcoming Gibson titles includeBoss LevelandLast Look. He’s also supposed to direct a remake ofThe Wild Bunchat some point.
