Elf sequel will never happen because of Will Ferrell's relationship with co-star (2024)

The late James Caan, who played Will Ferrell's biological father in the hit festive movie, explained to fans why beloved Christmas movie Elf never got a sequel

Before his death in July 2022, James Caan shed some light on why fans never got a sequel to the hit movie Elf.

During a candid interview, the legendary actor, who played Will Ferrell's biological father in the festive classic, was asked why the 2003 blockbuster never had a follow-up despite it's enormous success.

The Godfather star revealed that he and the cast - including Zooey Deschanel and Mary Steenburgen - were very much up for a reunion but due to some tension between his co-stars the idea never got off the ground.

"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," he joked.

"But the director and Will didn't get along very well," let slip the actor.

"So, Will wanted to do it, he didn't want the director, and he had it in his contract, it was one of those things...," Caan told Cleveland's 92.3 The Fan’s Bull & Fox.

It was reported that Will was offered a whopping $29million to appear in a sequel but he still refused to budge for the massive pay cheque.

Will, who has had previous success with Anchorman 2, Daddy's Home 2 and Zoolander 2, said it would be 'pathetic' to try and remake Elf.

"I just think it would look slightly pathetic if I tried to squeeze back in the elf tights. Buddy the middle-aged Elf," he mocked.

Will had been 35 when he first slipped into the famous green costume in November 2023. The comedy actor won legions of fans for his role as Buddy the Elf, a human raised by elves, in the Christmas flick with Jon Favreau on directing duties - and also making a brief screen appearance as paediatrician Doctor Leonardo.

The movie was made on a budget of $32million and went on to gross a whopping $220million worldwide. Elf's enduring popularity has positioned it as a Christmas staple 17 years after it's release.

On the tenth anniversary of the movie, director Favreau opened up about how he came to be involved. "They were looking for somebody to rewrite it and possibly direct it," he told Rolling Stone. "And I remember reading it, and it clicked - if I made the world that he was from as though he grew up as an elf in 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,' one of those Rankin/Bass Christmas specials I grew up with, then everything fell into place tonally. So for a year, I rewrote the script."

Favreu said the script then went from PG to PG-13. "He was a darker character in the script I had read originally. The character became a bit more innocent, and the world became more of a pastiche of the Rankin/Bass films. The studio [New Line] read it and agreed to make it, and that's when I was brought on to direct."

While Elf never got a sequel, the movie did spawn musical Elf: The Musical and animated television special Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas.

The movie is often listed as among the greatest Christmas films ever made.