Olivia Wilde fought for years to get upcoming Christmas comedy made

Olivia Wilde fought for years to make her passion project, the upcoming Christmas comedy Naughty.

Within weeks of releasing her third directorial effort, The Invite, in July, it was announced that Wilde would helm the upcoming holiday comedy Naughty, starring Jennifer Aniston and Peter Dinklage.

Discussing the upcoming project with The Hollywood Reporter, the former O.C. actress revealed that she has been quietly working on the film for years.

"I can't believe it. This is a project we've been working on for years; it's a passion project and I fought and fought and fought to get this made. I feel so grateful that we get to make it because it is a movie that aims to be in the spirit of Rob Reiner, a comedy that has a tremendous amount of heart at its core," she said, referring to the late director of This Is Spinal Tap and When Harry Met Sally.

Wilde noted that Naughty was "a much bigger endeavour" than her previous directorial projects - Booksmart, Don't Worry Darling and The Invite - and she felt grateful to be trusted with it.

"(Naughty) is something that is way bigger than anything I've ever taken on. I feel very honoured in this day and age to be able to direct an original theatrical comedy for a studio at this level," she gushed. "Universal is putting a tremendous amount of trust in me and the ability to be able to direct Jen and Peter, among a host of other incredible actors who are hopefully coming on board; I just couldn't be more excited."

Naughty, which is currently in pre-production, tells the story of Mallory (Aniston), who has to track down Santa Claus (Dinklage) as he's her only hope of winning custody of her son in a battle with her ex.

According to Deadline, Wilde signed on to direct the film in 2023. Following the success of The Invite, studio bosses reportedly moved quickly to ensure they didn't lose her to another project.

Naughty is set to be released on 5 November 2027.