EXCLUSIVE: Walton Goggins has been cast as a lead in Fatman, the dark action comedy that stars Mel Gibson, who is playing Santa Claus. The casting reunites Goggins again with Rough House Pictures, which produced HBO’s Vice Principals, produces the current The Righteous Gemstones, and which is producing Fatman.

The film, originally launched at the Cannes market last spring, has also added Todd Courtney of Mammoth Entertainment to the producing team, with Mammoth now set to finance alongside Ingenious Media. The Nelms Brothers (Small Town Crime) are directing based on their original screenplay. Production is underway in Canada.

Fatman centers on a neglected and precocious 12-year-old who hires an unorthodox hitman to kill Santa Claus after receiving a lump of coal in his stocking. Goggins will star as Skinnyman, the eccentric, sharp-shooting hitman who works at a toy store.

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Brandon James of Rough House, Fortitude’s Nadine de Barros, Michelle Lang and Skywolf’s Lisa Wolofsky are also producing along with Robert Menzies. Fortitude will continue to sell the project to buyers internationally next month at the European Film Market in Berlin. CAA is repping domestic rights.

Rough House partners Danny McBride, David Gordon Green and Jody Hill are executive producers with Ingenious’ Peter Touche and Sam Allwinton.

Goggins, who won a Critics’ Choice Award in 2018 for his role on Vice Principals, also is in the cast of Gemstones, which has been renewed for a second season. He currently produces and stars on CBS’ freshman comedy The Unicorn, which has received a full-season pickup. His recent film credits include Three Christs, which bowed earlier this month via IFC Films, along with Them That Follow, Tomb Raider, The Hateful Eight and Ant-Man and the Wasp.

He’s repped by ICM Partners and Darris Hatch Management and Production.