Will Ferrell Explained Why He Turned Down Doing a Sequel to 'Elf'
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Will Ferrell has crushed the hearts of Elf fans by explaining why he didn't return for a sequel.
The Anchorman actor played Buddy the Elf in the 2003 festive comedy opposite Zooey Deschanel and James Caan.
Unfortunately, we never got any more scenes where Buddy stuffs his face with the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup (a diet we wouldn't recommend).
While promoting his new AppleTV+ series The Shrink Next Door, the actor admitted that he wouldn't have been able to promote the Christmas comedy's sequel "from an honest place."
Related: Elf cast reunite for special event with Will Ferrell, Zooey Deschanel and guest stars
A second installment in the original Elf saga had been written and would have paid Ferrell the not-too-shabby amount of $29 million. Yet, he declined.
He told The Hollywood Reporter: "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.'
"And I thought, 'Can I actually say those words? I don't think I can, so I guess I can't do the movie.'"
And while the movie (directed by Marvel star Jon Favreau) might not have aged particularly well – remember those ableist jokes and the shower scene? – Elf is still a slightly problematic favorite for the holiday season.
Related: Marvel's Paul Rudd and Kathryn Hahn clash in first look trailer for new Will Ferrell series
Ferrell, however, isn't done with holiday movies just yet. The actor has just finished filming Spirited, a Christmas musical with Ryan Reynolds and Octavia Spencer.
A modern adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, the film will see Ferrell as the Ghost of Christmas Present.
"The whole point of the movie is that the ghosts of Dickens' Christmas Carol, who pluck a Scrooge every year to show them the error of their ways and then they're like, 'I will be a better person' – there's a crisis of faith in that, like, what [the ghosts] do, does it even work anymore? That's what we're examining," he said.
Elf is now available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.
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