James Caan says there wont be a sequel to the hit Christmas fantasy-comedy “Elf” because headliner Will Ferrell and director Jon Favreau “didn’t get along.”
“”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 told Cleveland’s 92.3 The Fan’s Bull & Fox show on Friday. “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.”
The Will Ferrell holiday movie, first released in 2003, centered on Buddy (Ferrell), a human who was adopted and raised by Santa’s elves. Buddy learns about this and heads to New York City to meet his biological father (Cann) while also spreading Christmas cheer in a world of cynics in the process. “Elf” also starred Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, Daniel Tay, Bob Newhart and Ed Asner.
Made on a budget of just $33 million, the film was a box office hit and grossed $220.4 million in world wide box office. “Elf” is considered one of the greatest Christmas movies and in 2017, Fandango users rated “Elf” the best Christmas film of the 21st century.
Representatives for Ferrell did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap. Favreau’s representative didn’t immediately have a comment.