JK Simmons is getting absolutely ripped to play the ‘most bad ass’ Santa ever

We may be enjoying a lot of new Christmas films this year, from Will Ferrell's Spirited to Lindsay Lohan's Falling for Christmas.

But let's look ahead to next year shall we, and the potential festive films we'll be watching on the box in 2023.

As we know, many films have been delayed in recent years mainly due to filming restraints that the Covid-19 pandemic brought.

But this one film known as Red One currently has a 2023 release date, and it looks like it's going to be a fun ride.

The highly anticipated film is directed by Jake Kasdan, with Chris Morgan and Hiram Garcia as writers.

Dwayne Johnson is the obvious star in the film, with him alongside Fast and Furious co-star Chris Evans and Lucy Liu. Also joining them is veteran American actor J.K Simmons, who is taking of the main role of Santa himself in Red One.

ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo

Well, it seems as though Simmons is building a bit of muscle for the role as Johnson has pointed out himself on Instagram.

In a post accompanying a picture of Simmons in the film, Johnson describes him as 'the most bad ass' Santa ever.

He said: "Ladies, gentlemen & children of all ages.. the coolest, strongest, kindest, most bad ass, most loving & most OG Santa Claus of all time.

"Brought to life by Academy Award winner, J.K. Simmons who worked his ass off for months to step into this iconic role in AMAZING SHAPE for our Christmas franchise film, RED ONE.

"We’re having a BLAST and so will you and your families when you see our movie!!"

Over 12k people have commented on The Rock's post, with the vast majority seriously impressed by Simmons' new look.

One person said: "That's a buff Santa!"

@therock/Instagram

A second person added: "I want some of what he is taking." Meanwhile, a third joked: "Waiting for WrestleMania."

It may still be a long while to wait for Red One, but Johnson seems excited by the potential of the new film.

Speaking when the new Amazon film was announced in June, he said: "Hold my Mana, because this is exciting.

"Our Seven Bucks is very bullish on our partnership with Amazon Studios; underpinned with some innovation, some pioneering and a lot of positive energy and passion.

"I’ve been very impressed with Jen Salke and her team’s vision and ambition to create an enormous, fun and unique ‘Red One’ holiday universe for families around the world to enjoy."