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The Cat’s Out Of the Bag, But Bernard’s Return to ‘The Santa Clause’ Was Supposed to Be a Secret

Bernard The Santa Clause
Credit: Disney

It’s already August, which means that it is nearly Halloween, which means that it is almost Christmas! That’s right, in just a few months, we will start celebrating the merriest time of the year, so break out the tinsel, make yourself a cup of hot cocoa, and put on your favorite Disney Christmas movies. For many Disney fans, their Christmas movie marathon will include the popular Santa Clause trilogy. The original film starred Tim Allen as Scott Calvin, a not-super-involved dad who accidentally becomes Santa when he scares the previous Santa off of his roof.

The Santa Clause

Credit: Disney

The original Santa Clause came out in 1994, with the sequel coming out in 2002, and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause coming out in 2006. Even though it has been 16 years since we last saw the Calvin family, the movies have only seemed to grow in popularity. In January 2022, Disney announced that it was working on a new Disney Original Series, bringing us up-to-date on Scott Calvin and his life as Santa. The show would bring back Tim Allen as Scott Calvin and Elizabeth Mitchell as his wife, Carol, AKA Mrs. Claus.

The Santa Clause

Credit: Disney

As time went on, we learned more and more about what the series — called The Santa Clauses — will be about and who will be in it. Elizabeth Allen Dick will star as Scott and Carol’s daughter, Sandra, Kal Penn will play toy maker (and potential Santa replacement) Simon, and Austin Kane will play Scott and Carol’s son, Cal. The show will focus on Scott looking for the perfect person to act as his replacement. He has been Santa for a long time and is looking to retire, so he can spend more time with his family.

The Santa Clauses

Credit: Disney

Just last week, we found out that David Krumholtz will be returning to reprise his role as Head Elf Bernard. Krumholtz had appeared in both The Santa Clause and The Santa Clause 2, but did not appear in The Santa Clause 3. Fans were ecstatic to see that one of their favorite elves would be returning, and the news quickly spread right after big names like Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter broke it. However, it appears that Bernard’s return was supposed to be a surprise that was ruined by someone who leaked it to the press.

Bernard The Santa Clause

Credit: Disney

Tim Allen recently took to social media to say that they wanted to surprise fans later this fall with the news, but their surprise was ruined.

We wanted to surprise everyone in the fall. But it seems the press found out. This a release from a few days ago.

When it comes to big news like this, it is unfortunately very hard to keep it secret. Major Hollywood publications, like Deadline, often have sources who let them know everything. Those sources are the same ones who share internal memos sent to Disney employees or break the news of unexpected firings, like that of executive Peter Rice.

Even though Allen, Krumhotlz, and The Santa Clauses showrunners were unable to break the news about Bernard’s triumphant return, we know that they are probably just as excited about it as the fans are!

The Santa Clauses does not have a premiere date at this time, but many are speculating that it will be released this holiday season. Disney Dining will let you know when an official premiere date is announced.

About Krysten Swensen

A born and bred New England girl living the Disney life in Southern California. I love to read, to watch The Golden Girls, and love everything to do with Disney and Universal. I also love to share daily doses of Disney on my Disney Instagram @BrazzleDazzleDisney!