Jordan Karlesson
Elves are sitting on shelves across the country during the Christmas season. But don’t hold out hope for seeing Will Ferrell hang with them in a movie again — no matter how big the paycheck.
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Ferrell divulged last year to The Hollywood Reporter that he turned down an astounding $29 million to act in a sequel to Elf. He said the script he read for it regurgitated the plot from the 2003 holiday classic.
“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,’” he said. “And I thought, ‘Can I actually say those words? I don’t think I can, so I guess I can’t do the movie.’”
Will Ferrell Isn’t an Elf-ish Guy
Ferrell, one of the most popular comedic actors in Hollywood, broke through in 2003 with two comedies: Old School and Elf, which Jon Favreau directed. Ferrell made a huge impact on the holiday movie genre with his lead role in the latter film.
In terms of numbers, Elf raked in a massive $173 million at the box office. Favreau once said the final version of the movie was even less focused on comedy than the original version, which also had its sights trained more on a younger audience.
Thanks to the changes, though, the movie probably performed better at the box office than its earlier iteration would have.
While he refuses to make an Elf sequel, Will Ferrell hasn’t sworn off participating in holiday-themed projects.
He’s currently starring in Spirited, a Christmas-themed musical directed by Sean Anders, produced by John Morris, and co-starring Ryan Reynolds.
