“Elf” was a wildly successful film. The 2003 Christmas classic grossed $223 million worldwide. You think it would be a no-brainer to do a sequel, right? Not for Will Ferrell. He reportedly walked away from a $29 million payday.
So what gives? Apparently “Elf 2” would’ve had a similar premise as the original film – and he wasn’t on-board with it. “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,’” Will said in a recent interview. “And I thought, ‘Can I actually say those words? I don't think I can, so I guess I can't do the movie.’”
But don’t fret. He’s working on another holiday movie with Ryan Reynolds. “Spirited” is a musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”
Source: The Hollywood Reporter