Elf is one of the most popular Christmas movies ever, and yet Elf 2 never happened.
Director Jon Favreau and actor Will Ferrell brought Elf to theaters in 2003, raking in $230 million worldwide on a budget of just $33 million. But despite its impressive success and how the movie is still enjoyed by families around the world every Christmas, a sequel, for some reason, was never released.
Was Elf 2 Ever On the Cards?
While a sequel to Ferrell's Elf never came to fruition, it was reportedly once on the table, as Mental Floss stated in September 2013 that Elf 2: Buddy Saves Christmas had spent some time in development, only to be canceled.
Later in 2013, Ferrell told USA Today (via Rolling Stone) he would "absolutely not" be interested in developing Elf 2, joking how "it would look slightly pathetic" for him to "squeeze back in the elf tights."
Despite Ferrell's disinterest, director Jon Favreau told Yahoo in 2016 that there "was talk of a sequel" shortly after the original's release, and studio New Line Cinema tried to "pitch [him] different takes on it."
However, he noted that "a straight sequel is probably not the right move" if some sort of follow-up to Elf were to ever happen:
"In the beginning there was talk of sequel, and it never came to be, probably for the best as now it exists as its own thing. But it comes up. I hear from the studio who pitch me different takes on it. There is part of me that wonders if there’s anything to be done to follow-up 'Elf,' but I think a straight sequel is probably not the right move."
While the studio may have pursued Elf 2 due to the success of the 2003 original, it appears neither Favreau nor Ferrell ever had any serious interest.
Why Elf 2 Did Not Happen
During the Yahoo interview discussed prior, Jon Favreau noted that, while a sequel was once considered, it is "probably for the best as now it exists as its own thing," and Will Ferrell seemingly shares a similar sentiment.
The Buddy actor confirmed to IGN in a double-act interview with actress Kristen Wiig that he has been "asked to do [Elf 2] a lot:"
IGN: "Are there any of your older movies that you think should have had a sequel? A 'Night at the Roxbury' for example?"
Ferrell: "No."
Wiig: "You’ve been asked to do 'Elf' a lot haven’t you?"
Ferrell: "Yeah."
IGN: "Please don’t do that!"
He went on to explain that, much like Wiig, he is never eager to "rush into a sequel of things that [he] really [cares] about," and developing a follow-up requires "a story that justifies having an extension of the first one:"
Ferrell: "See. That’s the thing. I don’t think either of us are ever on that side of ever wanting to rush into a sequel of things that we really care about. If you can figure that out and come up with a story that justifies having an extension of the first one, then great. I’ve been asked and begged and prodded to do a sequel to that movie, and I’m with you."
IGN: "Could there ever be an idea for it?"
Ferrell: "I think it’s hard – it’s a classic fish out of water story and it’s its own thing."
While Favreau and Ferrell have both landed on the side that Elf exists perfectly as its "own thing" and an unwarranted sequel could hurt its legacy, it appears there was more behind-the-scenes drama that hurt its chances.
James Caan, who played Walter Hobbs, stated as recently as 2020 in an interview with Cleveland’s 92.3 The Fan’s Bull & Fox show (via People) that they were "gonna [make a sequel]" but Favreau and Ferrell "didn't get along very well:"
“We were gonna do it and I thought, ‘Oh my god, I finally got a franchise movie, I could make some money, let my kids do what the hell they want to do.’ And the director and Will didn’t get along very well.”
He continued to state that Ferrell "wanted to do it" but he wanted Favreau replaced, but the director's contract prevented a sequel from happening without him:
"Will wanted to do it, and he didn't want the director, and [Favreau] had it in his contract. It was one of those things."
Elf is streaming now on Max and Hulu.
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