Everything old is new again, especially in the Hollywood of today. During the Super Bowl, people freaked out over many things, including the appearance of Michael Keaton dusting off the batsuit he ditched over 30 years ago. But there are a few properties that won’t get revived any time soon. One is Back to the Future. Another is Elf.
In a new interview with Variety (in a bit teased out by Entertainment Weekly), Jon Favreau was asked about his first hit as a director, namely the 2003 Yuletide comedy. He’s moved on to other things; he basically created the MCU with the original Iron Man, he’s got The Mandalorian, and his last big screen effort was the live-action version of The Lion King. But that’s not the only reason he’s not returning to part of his roots.
“I think there’s always room for new Christmas movies,” Favreau told Variety. But with Elf, he said, “I don’t know what story would be told after that. It’s very complete.”
There actually was an Elf sequel in the works once upon a time, but it never materialized. Maybe it will at some point, featuring a much older — though presumably still boyish — Buddy Hobbs. Perhaps it will even wind up being helmed by Favreau. But for now and for the foreseeable future, you’ll just have to keep rewatching the original, which continues to be something lots of people like to do.