To say that “Elf” is a beloved Christmas film is a gross understatement. Released back in 2003, the Will Ferrell film has become a holiday classic over the past couple of decades. And as we’ve seen time after time in Hollywood, you can’t have a hit film (especially one the size of “Elf”) just be left on the shelf. You dust that red and green character off and make multiple sequels, a theme park ride, a toy line, and whatever else you can do to drain it of all the money it’s worth. But for some reason, “Elf” remains a standalone feature. And James Caan seems to know why.
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Recently, James Caan spoke on the Bull & Fox radio show (via Yahoo) to discuss the major hurdle that seems to be stopping an “Elf” sequel from moving forward. And surprisingly, this has nothing to do with the legendary actor being apprehensive about starring in a franchise. Instead, it has everything to do with an alleged feud between Jon Favreau and Will Ferrell.
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“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,” Caan said. “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.”
Of course, the “director” that is being discussed is Jon Favreau. This would likely help explain why “Elf 2” didn’t ever get greenlit and move forward, even after years of fans anxiously awaiting it. The original film has broken through not just as a hit comedy but also as a Christmas classic, getting shown on TV almost nonstop in the month of December.
Unfortunately, when you have a filmmaker such as Favreau, who has seen his status only rise higher and higher since 2003 thanks to “Jungle Book,” “The Lion King,” “The Mandalorian,” and, of course, the “Iron Man” films, it’s unlikely that a studio would be okay with moving forward with a sequel without him attached. And obviously, you can’t have “Elf 2” without, well, Buddy the elf, aka Will Ferrell. So, at this point, if Caan’s story is true, a sequel seems to be off the table.
But hey, at least you know you can keep watching “Elf” 4000 times each year when it plays non-stop on TV around Christmas. Joy!