Elf 2 Could Happen Says Jon Favreau (Exclusive)

Jon Favreau said studio execs want to make a sequel to his beloved Christmas hit ‘Elf’.

Talking to Yahoo Movies UK while promoting ‘The Jungle Book’, the director said the topic of ‘Elf 2’ often “comes up” with Hollywood bigwigs.

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. But it comes up. I hear from the studio who pitch me different takes on it. 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.”

Will Ferrell is famously resistant to making ‘Elf 2’, saying back in 2013: “I just think it would look slightly pathetic if I tried to squeeze back in the elf tights. Buddy the middle-aged elf.”

We asked Favreau if you could make Elf 2 without Ferrell, but he hinted the star could come back on board.

“There are all sorts of ways…” 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.”

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Sounds like Favreau could have a few ideas for the film, but at the same time it seems like he’d be happy if a sequel never sees the light of day.

“[A sequel] is a big gamble. If I don’t do anything I’d be very happy with what it is. The minute you take it on, you try to add on to something, you always run the risk of diminishing from the original.”

He went on: “I do have tremendous fondness for that film and you don’t want to do anything to screw up the legacy of it. It exists in very pure form as it comes back every year on television in both the British and American cultures.

“It might be the film I’m most proud off, if you pressed me.”

‘The Jungle Book’ is in UK cinemas on 15 April. Watch the trailer below.