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James Caan Says Will Ferrell Wanted To Do Elf 2

James Caan Says Will Ferrell Wanted To Do Elf 2

The actor says the film never happened due to a poor relationship between Ferrell and the director

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers

Will Ferrell considered making a sequel to Elf, his co-star has claimed.

James Caan, who played Buddy's (Ferrell) dad Walter in the hit 2003 Christmas movie, says the comedian was up for a second instalment but it never got off the ground.

During an interview, the 80-year-old told 92.3 The Fan's Bull & Fox that it never happened because Ferrell didn't get on with the movie's director Jon Favreau.

He said: "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 [Favreau] and Will didn't get along very well. 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."

James Caan claims the sequel never happened because Will Ferrell didn't get on with director Jon Favreau.
New Line Cinema

The claims of a poor relationship have never been mentioned before by either Ferrell or Favreau.

In fact, since the film was released Ferrell has consistently denied that he was ever really interested in sequel.

Speaking to The Guardian in 2006, he revealed that he was offered $29 million (£22.7m) to reprise the role, but said no.

He told the publication: "That's what was on offer for it but I killed the idea of a sequel. I never liked it - $29m does seem a lot of money for a guy to wear tights, but it's what the marketplace will bear. It's insane, but it's not my call. The studios perpetuate it and they make it hard to say no.

"It wasn't difficult at all. I remember asking myself: could I withstand the criticism when it's bad and they say, 'He did the sequel for the money'? I decided I wouldn't be able to."

Ferrell has always denied that he wanted to do a sequel.
New Line Cinema

And it's something he has stuck to during countless other interviews when asked about the possibility of fans ever being treated to another Elf movie.

He told IGN in 2016 that Elf was 'it's own thing' and despite being 'begged' to make another, he just never thought it would work.

The actor said: "If you can figure that out and come up with a story that justifies having an extension of the first one, then great... I think it's hard - it's a classic fish out of water story and it's its own thing.

"I've been asked and begged and prodded to do a sequel to that movie and I'm with you [don't want to do it]."

For his part, Favreau discussed the proposed sequel with Yahoo Movies in 2016. He said: "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.

"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."

Asked if Elf 2 could happen without Ferrell's involvement, Favreau still seemed optimistic the star could be encouraged to return. He said: "There's so many ways to skin that cat. You can play with the narrative structure and you can play with things in a way where you could do a cool version that the fans would like, and the people that were involved in it might be so charmed by it that they'd be involved in some other capacity."

Featured Image Credit: New Line Cinema

Topics: Entertainment, TV and Film, US Entertainment