Chase Sui Wonders, best known for her role on The Studio, has joined the cast of Naughty, a new holiday comedy from director Olivia Wilde, alongside previously announced stars Jennifer Aniston and Peter Dinklage. Universal Pictures will release the film in theatres on November 5, 2027.
The film follows Mallory, played by Jennifer Aniston, a mother locked in a custody battle with her ex-husband over their son. Her only real shot at winning the case is tracking down Santa Claus, played by Peter Dinklage, and convincing him to testify on her behalf at the divorce hearing. While her role has not been officially confirmed, sources say Wonders is expected to play a friend who joins Mallory on her journey to the North Pole.
Jimmy Warden wrote the script, which began as a spec screenplay before Universal picked it up. Wilde is directing, marking her third feature after Booksmart and Don’t Worry Darling. LuckyChap is producing the film alongside Wilde and Warden, with Universal’s Sara Scott and Jacqueline Garell overseeing the project for the studio.
Naughty comes on the heels of Olivia Wilde’s dinner-party comedy The Invite, which became one of the best-reviewed films of the year and had the highest sale to come out of Sundance, eventually being picked up by A24 following an overnight bidding war. Reports suggest Wilde had Aniston and Dinklage in mind for Naughty even before The Invite was finished, and once that film proved successful, Universal moved quickly to lock in the cast’s schedules and get the project greenlit.
Chase Sui Wonders has built a fast-rising career over the past few years. She currently stars in Apple TV’s Emmy-winning comedy The Studio as Quinn Hackett, a young creative executive at a fictional film studio. The series won 13 of its 23 Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series, and is set to return for a second season in 2027. She also recently appeared in Gregg Araki’s erotic thriller I Want Your Sex, alongside Wilde and Cooper Hoffman, which was released by Magnolia Pictures in July.
Earlier credits include Generation, Daniel Isn’t Real, Sofia Coppola’s On the Rocks and Apple TV’s City on Fire. Looking ahead, she is set to star in an upcoming A24 film from Rebel Ridge director Jeremy Saulnier and will appear in the Jean-Michel Basquiat biopic Samo Lives, from writer-director Julius Onah. She is represented by UTA and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern.
Jennifer Aniston returns to the comedy genre with the role, following her long-running career on Friends and more recent work on The Morning Show. Dinklage, widely known for playing Tyrion Lannister on Game of Thrones, adds another high-profile project to a filmography spanning prestige television and comedic roles.
This marks Jennifer Aniston’s second Christmas film, following 2016’s Office Christmas Party, while Dinklage previously appeared in the 2003 holiday classic Elf. Notably, Naughty is not the only Santa-themed film opening on November 5, 2027. It will go head-to-head with Margie Claus, an animated Warner Bros. musical starring Melissa McCarthy as Santa’s wife, setting up two very different takes on the North Pole hitting theatres on the same day. The project itself was first pitched back in 2023 and has reportedly been described industry-wide as “Bridesmaids set at the North Pole.”
With Wonders now attached, Naughty continues to take shape as a major Universal comedy project for the 2027 holiday season, bringing together Wilde’s growing directorial momentum with an increasingly in-demand cast. No further casting details have been announced yet.