Buddy the Elf almost got another festive adventure in New York City, but Will Ferrell was not impressed with the script.
The actor has revealed that he turned down $29million (£21m) to star in an Elf sequel, because it just wasn’t very good.
The 54-year-old starred as an elf who leaves the North Pole in search of his biological father after discovering he is a human adopted by an elf in the Christmas favourite, and after the 2003 movie was a huge box office success, a sequel was written.
However, Will felt he was too honest to promote the movie.
Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, 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.”
‘I thought, “Can I actually say those words? I don’t think I can, so I guess I can’t do the movie.”’
The article added that the sequel had a ‘rehashed premise’.
The first film ended with Buddy saving Christmas by drumming up Christmas spirit in New York City – and his non-believer father Walter (James Caan) to make Santa’s sleigh fly, and having a baby with his girlfriend Jovie (Zooey Deschanel).
Elf, which also starred Bob Newhart, Ed Asner and Mary Steenburgen, has become a Christmas classic, but it seems that a ‘rehashed’ script was just one of the reasons a sequel wasn’t made.
James Caan claimed last year that Will’s strained relationship with director Jon Favreau led to Elf 2: Buddy Saves Christmas being abandoned.
Speaking on the radio show The Fan In Cleveland, the Misery star said: ‘We were gonna do it, and I thought “Oh my God, I finally have a franchise movie. I can make some money, let my kids do what the hell they want to do.”
‘The director and Will didn’t get along very well. Will wanted to do it, and he didn’t want the director. He had it in his contract. It was one of those things.’
Will’s career didn’t suffer from turning his back on the lucrative sequel, though – a year after Elf came out, he starred in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, and over the 18 years, starred in hits like Blades of Glory, Step Brothers and Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.
He is equally as successful as a producer, acting as a producer on films including Vice, Booksmart and Hustlers, and as executive producer on the award-winning drama Succession, which is on its third season.
Will can next be seen in the Apple TV series The Shrink Next Door, based on the hit podcast, which premieres on November 12.
MORE : SAS: Who Dares Wins introduces Ant Middleton replacement in first look at 2022 series