Scott Calvin's (Tim Allen) original head elf is returning to help him once again. David Krumholtz is teasing Bernard's return in this week's episode of The Santa Clauses, in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly. In the original 1994 The Santa Clause film, Bernard was the one who explained to Scott what it meant for him to take on the mantle of Santa Claus. In 2002's The Santa Clause 2, Bernard, along with Curtis (Spencer Breslin), told Scott that in order for him to continue to be Santa, he had to find a wife.
In this week's episode of The Santa Clauses, Krumholtz teased that Bernard will explain the history of the mantle of Santa Claus. "In my episode, we learn a lot about who Santa Claus really is, who he has been, who the elves are, and why they exist," said Krumholtz. "It's all brought into some perspective instead of just accepting the fact that there are pointy-eared elves working somewhere on the top of the Earth for a jolly, bearded, fat man. It's a mix of the actual history of the myth of Santa Claus that has been written about for hundreds of years, some new stuff thrown in to make sense of it all. It's really, really brilliant."
Krumholtz also teased that his episode will give more backstory to what really happened the night the previous Santa fell off of Scott Calvin's roof. "It's this real, genuine attempt to sort of create a lineage for Santa Claus and for the elves," said Krumholtz.
"You get an idea of what exactly happened that night in the first movie when the Santa Claus fell off Scott Calvin's roof, why Scott Calvin became Santa Claus, why it was him and not someone else. Did Santa really die when he fell off that roof? What really went on that night? What actually happens to Santas and to elves? Without giving too much away, it's kind of a multiversal origin story of Christmas."
Bernard was last seen onscreen 20 years ago in The Santa Clause 2. In 2006's The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, the role of head elf had been passed to Curtis. In The Santa Clauses, Betty (Matilda Lawler) and Noel (Devin Bright) have taken over as Santa's most-trusted elves. Bernard will also be visiting Scott after he has retired from being Santa and chosen Simon Choksi (Kal Penn) to be the next person to take up the mantle. The original head elf will be returning just in time since the last episode showed that the North Pole's elves have been disappearing into thin air.
New episodes of The Santa Clauses arrive weekly on Wednesdays on Disney+. Fans can see Bernard in the first two The Santa Clause films, which are currently available on the streaming service. In the meantime, check out a trailer for the series below: