If Jim Carrey Is Returning For The Grinch 2, We All Know What Actor Needs To Reprise His Iconic Christmas Role Next

With Jim Carrey announcing that he would consider returning for a How The Grinch Stole Christmas sequel, many people are saying that it would be great to see Will Ferrell return in his iconic Christmas role in Elf. Since its release in 2003, Jon Favreau’s Elf has become one of the best Christmas movies of all time thanks to its major critical and commercial success, originally earning $220 million worldwide at the box office. Elf is possibly one of Will Ferrell’s funniest movies as his character, Buddy, must navigate the world of humans after growing up in the North Pole.

Jim Carrey’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas is also one of the funniest Christmas movies, with the actor portraying a live-action version of the eccentric Dr. Seuss character. How The Grinch Stole Christmas was also a box office success in the 2000s, earning $346.5 million, joining Elf in Christmas movie infamy. Considering both Elf and The Grinch have gained a reputation as beloved Christmas classics, it is strange that they never made another movie. However, Jim Carrey and Will Ferrell have spoken about their potential returns, citing the reasons that the two biggest Christmas movies never got a sequel.

Jim Carrey In The Grinch & Will Ferrell In Elf Are The Two Biggest Christmas Movie Sequels We Never Got

Carrey And Ferrell Have Different Reasons For Not Returning For Their Christmas Sequels

Despite Jim Carrey’s best character earning him a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, the actor had issues with How The Grinch Stole Christmas. The Grinch’s costume caused problems for Jim Carrey due to its invasive nature and exhausting process; Carrey was encased in green yak fur and wore enlarged contact lenses to achieve the Grinch’s look, which Carrey said felt like “being buried alive every day.” The process was so grueling that a CIA torture expert had to help Carrey cope, so it is no surprise that The Grinch 2 never happened.

On the other hand, Elf was much easier to film, featuring a mostly human cast dressed in easily applicable outfits, with Will Ferrell navigating the less fantastical location of New York. Therefore, it is a question why Elf 2 never happened after the first film was met with a lot of success. The truth is that Will Ferrell was not interested in an Elf sequel due to receiving bad scripts which delivered an unsatisfactory story, although, it may have also been down to the fact that, according to James Caan, Ferrell and director Favreau “didn’t get along very well.”

Jim Carrey Recently Said He Would Play The Grinch Again, Which Might Push Will Ferrell To Reconsider Elf 2

Carrey Is Older Than Ferrell, But Still Wants To Return As The Grinch

Recently, Jim Carrey revealed the condition for his return in a How The Grinch Stole Christmas sequel, stating that CGI and motion capture would have to be used instead of the original prosthetics. In an interview with ComicBook.com, he commented, “I had to do that with a ton of makeup, and I could hardly breathe, and it was an extremely excruciating process,” but “with motion capture and things like that, I could be free to do some other things.” Carrey’s conditions for returning are understandable considering his history with The Grinch, and it’s great to see Carrey might be onboard.

Related

The Original Actor Choice To Play Buddy The Elf Would Have Been Wildly Different

Elf has become one of the most popular holiday movies of all time, but it was originally written with another very different comedy actor in mind.

It is possible that Jim Carrey’s return as The Grinch could inspire Will Ferrell to reconsider his position on Elf 2. Ferrell has had reservations about returning to Elf due to his age, claiming that it wouldn’t fit the movie, yet Carrey is 5 years older and is still considering a return to his iconic Christmas movie. Conversely, while Jim Carrey’s The Grinch sequel would be less physically demanding with the use of CGI, Will Ferrell does offer an interesting point, as Buddy is a highly excitable character, yet there are ways that Elf 2 could still work despite that.

Elf 2 Could Feature A Toned Down Buddy, Or Even Another Focus Entirely

It makes sense for Ferrell to express concerns regarding returning to Elf now he is older, and he talked about this 10 years ago in an interview with Andy Cohen on Bravo TV: “I just think it would look slightly pathetic if I tried to squeeze back in the elf tights: Buddy the middle-aged elf.” However, Elf 2 has unlimited potential and could present a maturer (and hilarious) version of Buddy, especially if he has been venturing between the North Pole and New York for some time. Furthermore, Elf’s ending could also offer an alternate character focus for the sequel instead of Buddy.

After Will Ferrell’s Buddy strikes up a romance with Zooey Deschanel’s Jovie in Elf, the ending introduces a new character: Buddy’s daughter, Susie. With Ferrell concerned about how a middle-aged Buddy the Elf would work as a main character, the Christmas movie could follow the tradition of other sequels, such as the successful Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and instead offer a new generation of protagonist, transferring Ferrell to a supporting role. There are a multitude of ways Elf 2 could work, so it’s a shame that Ferrell has seemingly written it off, although The Grinch 2 could inspire the actor to reconsider.

Sources: ComicBook.com, Bravo TV.

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Elf

Elf follows Buddy, a human raised as an elf at the North Pole. As an adult, he journeys to Manhattan to find his biological father, a work-driven businessman. The film explores Buddy’s comedic attempts to navigate human society and his quest to bring holiday spirit to his family.

Release Date

October 9, 2003

Runtime

97 minutes

Cast

Will Ferrell , James Caan , Bob Newhart , Ed Asner , Mary Steenburgen , Zooey Deschanel , Daniel Tay , Faizon Love , Peter Dinklage , Amy Sedaris , Michael Lerner , Andy Richter , Kyle Gass , Artie Lange , Leon Redbone , Ray Harryhausen , Claire Lautier , Ted Friend , Patrick Ferrell , Patrick McCartney , Jon Favreau , Lydia Lawson-Baird , Brenda McDonald , Annie Brebner

Writers

David Berenbaum

Studio(s)

New Line Cinema

Distributor(s)

New Line Cinema , Warner Bros. Pictures

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