Will Ferrell explains why he turned down $29m for Elf sequel

Will Ferrell said he was offered $29m to star in a sequel to Elf but turned it down because he didn’t believe in its premise.

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the 54-year-old Saturday Night Live alum said he thought the sequel’s plotline was too similar to the first Elf movie.

Ferrell said: “I would have had to promote the movie from an honest place, which would’ve been, like, ‘Oh no, it’s not good. I just couldn’t turn down that much money.’

“I thought, ‘Can I actually say those words? I don’t think I can, so I guess I can’t do the movie.’”

When asked about his role as Buddy the Elf in Jon Favreau’s feel-good directorial debut, Ferrell recalled running around New York City in yellow tights, thinking: “Boy, this could be the end.”

However, the film earned a whopping $220m at the box office, and was received warmly by audiences and critics.

Ferrel has previously also dismissed the possibility of an Elf sequel, saying it was “absolutely not” going to happen.

In a 2013 episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, the Talladega Nights actor said: “It would look slightly pathetic if I tried to squeeze back into the Elf tights.”

James Caan, who plays Ferrell’s biological father in Elf, has claimed that Ferrell and Favreau don’t get along with each other.

During an appearance on the radio show The Fan in Cleveland , Caan said: “We were gonna do [a sequel].

“And I thought, ‘Oh my god, I finally have a franchise movie. I can make some money, let my kids do what the hell they want to do.’”

However, friction between Ferrell and Favreau ultimately dashed the actor’s hopes for a successful franchise series.

Ferrell will next be seen in the Apple TV+ series The Shrink Next Door, opposite Paul Rudd. The drama is released on 12 November.

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