Rock
U2 guitarist The Edge allegedly once wrote an Elf sequel
Andy Richter has revealed that U2 guitarist The Edge reportedly wrote a script for an Elf sequel that was never produced.
U2's The Edge reportedly wrote an Elf sequel that never made it to the screen.
Andy Richter, who appeared as Morris, one of Walter Hobbs' colleagues, in the 2003 Christmas comedy classic, has revealed that the guitarist apparently wrote a complete screenplay for a second instalment of the festive favourite.
Richter discussed the unusual piece of Elf history while promoting his new book, Elf Unwrapped: Behind the Scenes of a Modern Christmas Classic.
During an appearance on Obsessed: The Podcast, he explained that producer Shawna Robertson was approached with the news that The Edge, whose real name is David Howell Evans, had written an Elf sequel and wanted to discuss it with her.
Richter said: "It's the weirdest story, but apparently it was fully written. Somewhere in the world there is an Edge-penned Elf 2 out there. I would love for that to make the light of day.
"It never happened. It's one of those things where she's like, 'All right, sure, I'll meet him,' and then it just petered out and never happened."
Credit: Avalon
According to Richter, the meeting never took place and the reported screenplay has never been released or made public. The Edge has not publicly commented on the alleged script.
The revelation comes as fans continue to wonder whether Elf could ever receive a follow-up more than two decades after the original became a Christmas staple.
However, Richter is firmly in favour of leaving the film alone. He believes its reputation has grown to such an extent that revisiting the story could do more harm than good.
He said: "Now that time has passed, the movie has become so special that I think that people, rightfully so, are loath to mess with it because we all can think of movies that have been tarnished by their sequels.
"And this is so special and so perfect and so beloved… Why risk it?"
The Edge's reported screenplay was not the only attempt to develop an Elf sequel. Richter also revealed that screenwriter Scot Armstrong, who carried out uncredited work on the original film, wrote another proposed follow-up involving "the evil South Pole elves kidnapping Santa or something like that". That version also failed to move forward.
Elf was released in 2003 and directed by Jon Favreau, with Will Ferrell playing Buddy, a human who was raised by Santa's elves before travelling to New York in search of his biological father, Walter Hobbs, played by James Caan.
The film became a major box-office success and has since developed into a Christmas favourite, with Richter's new oral history exploring the making of the movie and the people involved in bringing it to the screen.
The news arrives as U2 are preparing to unleash their new album, Carnaval De Luz, on Friday (13.11.26).
