In 2003, ‘Bad Santa’ instantly became one of the greatest festive movies of all time.

And it wasn’t just thanks to Billy Bob Thornton’s astonishingly foul-mouthed Father Christmas, but also a sterling performance by Brett Kelly, the child actor who played the unfortunate Thurman Merman.

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Thurman was the young, friendless boy who latches on to Billy Bob’s Willy T. Soke, letting him move into his house and insisting on making him sandwiches.

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Against all odds, it’s young Thurman who manages to bring out a shred of humanity in Willy’s otherwise morally loathsome existence.

And now we’ve got our first glimpse of him all grown up in the sequel, ‘Bad Santa 2’, which is due out later this year.

It seems the pair are still together, as Willy embarks on a whole new era of larceny.

The movie sees the return of Tony Cox as Marcus, Willy’s reluctant partner in crime as they try to rob a Chicago charity on Christmas Eve.

But Willy is, as ever, distracted by his lust, this time for Diane Hastings, the charity’s director, played by ‘Mad Men’ star Christina Hendricks.

Also joining the cast is Kathy Bates as Sunny Sokes, Willy’s mum, also a criminal mastermind.

Penned by ‘Whip It’ writer Shauna Cross and ‘Entourage’ creator Doug Ellin, it’s directed by Mark Waters and due out on November 25.

Image credits: Broad Green Pictures/Dimension Films