Yahoo News Andrew Walker Teases “Three Wise Men and a Baby” Sequel: 'Like a James Bond Christmas Movie' (Exclusive)
The actor will reprise his role in the follow-up to the 2022 Hallmark Channel holiday film alongside Tyler Hynes and Paul Campbell
David Livingston/Getty Images; Hallmark Media
Andrew Walker; Hallmark Channel's 'Three Wise Men and a Baby'Andrew Walker has a little gift for Hallmark Channel Christmas movie fans: some details about Three Wiser Men and a Boy.
The 44-year-old actor tells PEOPLE he believes the follow-up to the 2022 film Three Wise Men and a Baby "is going to be better than the first one," and hints that the sequel will be action-packed.
"It's basically like a James Bond Christmas movie. It's so ambitious. We take the viewers to so many different locations," he says.
Walker also promises plenty of dancing. Fans of the 2022 film will likely remember that Walker and costars Tyler Hynes and Paul Campbell did an epic dance routine that went viral. The trio later surprised Christmas Con attendees with a live performance of the cheeky dance at the event.
"You're going to get a few of the fun dances and potentially some songs that we did in the first movie, so there's a bit of the old, a lot of new, and the jokes and the heart of the movie is just ... it's amazing," Walker reveals of the sequel, adding, "I feel like it's a funnier — almost in different ways — more heartfelt movie."
Walker, who has starred in more than 25 Hallmark movies over the past decade, says he embraced the rare chance to "step back into the shoes of a character" he's played.
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"We don't really get that opportunity in Hallmark, so to be able to do this with Tyler and Paul on top of it, it was just amazing," he explains, noting that he, Hynes, 38, and Campbell, 44, were thrilled to work together again. "Not a day passed that we didn't give each other a hug and just tell each other how incredible of an experience this is for us."
Walker admits, however, that the prospect of delivering a sequel was also a bit daunting, as expectations are high. He says the cast and crew felt the pressure at times throughout the production process.
"I'll tell you, it was a mountain. It wasn't easy, that's for sure. It was not an easy feat. We were going into this, we all had high expectations of this sequel and of ourselves, and we don't want to let the fans down," he tells PEOPLE.
"I think it was just a lot of pressure and it was a lot of us not feeling the pressure, but just we were problem solving," he continues, explaining that it became a wonderful, collaborative effort. "Every minute between every scene, we would huddle and talk through it, and it was basically the funniest joke wins. We would just tell each other, 'Okay, what about this?' and 'What if I try that?' and 'What if you do this over here and come into the scene saying this?' "
He adds, "It was like we were just supporting each other and making sure that we were just super honest with how we approach everything."
Hallmark announced the sequel in April, sharing at the time that the movie was in production and set to premiere as part of the network's 15th annual Countdown to Christmas programming. In addition to Walker, Hynes and Campbell — who play brothers Luke, Taylor and Stephan Brenner, respectively — Margaret Colin is reprising her role as their mother, Barbara.
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The movie, co-written by Campbell, Kimberley Sustad and Russell Hainline, picks up with the Brenner family five years after the 2022 original. According to a synopsis, "In a crazy turn of events, possibly brought on accidentally by the brothers themselves, the director of Luke’s son Thomas’ (Miles Marthaller) school holiday musical steps down. Luke is desperate to make his son’s stage dreams come true, so he enlists the help of his brothers Taylor and Stephan."
The siblings also find themselves grappling with their complicated feelings about their mother beginning a new romantic relationship. "In true Brenner brother fashion, they are all in for a Christmas they will never forget," the synopsis adds.
Jennifer Kramer, vice president of development at Hallmark Media, said in a statement that the sequel was prompted by the overwhelming success of the first film, which became an instant fan-favorite and the No. 1 most-watched original cable movie of 2022.
“The one resounding thing we heard from them was that they wanted more,” Kramer said of Hallmark viewers. “We are excited to deliver and then some with a story that is filled with more humor and, most importantly, more heart.”
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