Lackluster Elf 2 Script Caused Ferrell to Pass on $29 Million Paycheck
An iconic Christmas movie without a sequel? Now that's somewhat of a rare occurence these days, that's for sure.
Elf (2003), directed by Jon Favreau, was a major box office success, and is often said to be among the most beloved Christmas movies of all time. But, surprisingly for our time and a movie so popular, it remains stand-alone to this day. And not because there was no attempt to make Elf 2.
Because the attempt went poorly. Will Ferrell, who starred as Buddy in Elf, was catapulted into real fame by the movie's success, and cemented his position as one of the premier comedy actors with his next role in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, so by the time he was presented with a draft for a proposed sequel in 2005, he was in the position to choose. The Elf sequel could not go ahead without its main star.
The script was written by Scot Armstrong, who had plenty of credit as a screenwriter to his name, including helping to work on the script for the original Elf. But Will Ferrell was so unsatisfied with his work on the draft that he decided to decline, despite being offered $29 million.
As he 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.' And I thought, 'Can I actually say those words? I don't think I can, so I guess I can't do the movie.'" (via)
But what made Ferrell said that?
Sure, the script given to him was only a draft, and could have been significantly changed by the final version. But some elements were just impossible to excise without starting from scratch. First – and somewhat predictably – Elf 2 would have been a rehash, trying to recreate the fish-out-of-water comedy of the original with considerably less foundation.
Second, more importantly, the script dwelled too much on Buddy's family issues, at the expense of both comedic parts and the more fantastic elements of the movie, related to Santa Claus, elves and the supernatural villain Koal Kringle. Sure, reconnecting with one's daughter is a possible theme for Christmas movie… but probably not for a sequel to Elf.
And third, aging-up the main character to make him a family man could have resulted in serious cringe.
As Ferrell said, "I just think it would look slightly pathetic if I tried to squeeze back in the elf tights: Buddy the middle-aged elf." (via)
Given Will Ferrell's subsequent experiences with sequels, it is probably for the best that no Elf sequel had ever materialized.