Olivia Wilde's next film as director is a holiday comedy called Naughty, and she has landed Jennifer Aniston and Peter Dinklage to star in it. Universal Pictures has set a theatrical release for November 5, 2027, with the project currently in pre-production and cameras expected to roll soon (The Hollywood Reporter).

The story follows Mallory (Aniston), a single mum locked in a custody battle with her ex. Her last hope: track down Santa Claus to testify in her divorce hearing. Dinklage plays that Santa, characterised in the film as Mallory's "trash-bag" ex (Variety). So the man in the red suit is not a jolly stranger — he is the deadbeat she once married.

Wilde teased the project on the red carpet at the Los Angeles premiere of Gregg Araki's I Want Your Sex, telling The Hollywood Reporter that Naughty is a passion project she has been working on for years. She said the film aims for the spirit of Rob Reiner — a comedy with a tremendous amount of heart at its core (The Hollywood Reporter).

The script comes from Jimmy Warden, whose screenplay was first reported in December 2023 (The Hollywood Reporter). Margot Robbie's production company LuckyChap is producing alongside Universal, bringing aboard the outfit behind Barbie — a film that grossed $1.45 billion worldwide in 2023 (Deadline).

The casting of Aniston and Dinklage was officially announced in July 2026, with Wilde confirming she will begin shooting soon (The Playlist; Deadline).

For a general audience, the pitch is straightforward: a divorce comedy dressed in Christmas lights, built around two bankable stars and a writer-director team that has been shepherding the idea for some time. The November 2027 corridor gives Universal a holiday-season slot — the time of year when seasonal comedies tend to perform, provided they land before audiences pivot to family tentpoles.

Wilde's last film as director was Don't Worry Darling (2022), which grossed $87.4 million worldwide for Warner Bros. Naughty moves her to Universal and into broader comedic territory, with a premise that leans on character chemistry rather than genre machinery. Whether Aniston and Dinklage can carry the tonal balance Wilde is after — the Rob Reiner line between funny and sincere — is a question the film will answer when it reaches screens in late 2027.