Who else could take on the role of Buddy the Elf besides Will Ferrell?
Though there’s no sequel or remake of “Elf” in the works, the movie’s casting director, Susie Farris, spoke to People about who she would cast as Buddy in a remake of the 2003 Christmas classic.
“Off the top of my head, I’m just going to say Bill Hader,” Farris said. “I just think that he’s quirky and endearing and yeah, I’d like to see Bill Hader.”
Ferrell has been open about his feelings on a sequel to “Elf” in the years since the movie premiered.
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In December 2013, when asked by Andy Cohen on “Watch What Happens Live” if fans would ever see Buddy the Elf on screen again in a new movie, Ferrell said “absolutely not,” adding, “It would look slightly pathetic if I tried to squeeze back into the ‘Elf’ tights.”
In October 2021, Ferrell also told The Hollywood Reporter that he turned down a $29 million offer for “Elf 2.”
“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,’” he explained. “And I thought, ‘Can I actually say those words? I don’t think I can, so I guess I can’t do the movie.’”
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Despite Ferrell declining a sequel in the past, Farris still has ideas about what story a second movie would follow, explaining, “I want to see Buddy as a dad.”
As for who would play his daughter, Farris had a few thoughts about potential casting for a teenage or young adult version of Buddy the Elf and Jovie’s (Zooey Deschanel) daughter.
“I love Elle Fanning. I also really love Mckenna Grace,” she said.
Though fans may never see Hader as Buddy the Elf, he has appeared in his own family-friendly Christmas movie.
The former “Saturday Night Live” star starred as Santa’s son, Nick Kringle, in the 2019 Disney+ movie, “Noelle,” alongside Anna Kendrick. In the movie, Nick is poised to take over his family’s business, though that wasn’t his plan. Instead, he leaves the North Pole and his sister Noelle, played by Kendrick, has to bring him back home in time for Christmas.
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