Will Ferrell says that Buddy the Elf appearing in the Asda Christmas advert has allowed him to ‘get paid market value’ for the original movie he starred in.
Earlier this month Buddy reappeared on our screens for the first time in nearly 20 years and while it wasn’t new footage, getting to see the beloved character spread some Christmas cheer was welcomed.
But with the advert using footage from the 2003 Christmas classic comedy film, Will has joked that the royalties will now be rolling in.
When asked if he knew about his appearance in the ad, Will confirmed he had, and that it was ‘good’ and ‘well done’.
‘Well, it kind of helped me finally get paid market value for when I shot Elf,’ he added.
For those yet to see, the Asda clip shows Buddy applying for a job at the supermarket, and while he initially gets distracted by all the treats on offer and the opportunity to sing to customers, he ends up decorating an entire store overnight and locking in a position.
Seeing him on screen again has also inevitably led to more questions about a sequel.
Last year Will revealed last year he was offered $29million (£21m) to star in one, but turned it down because apparently it wasn’t very good.
However he’s also said that a problem might be his age now too.
‘I think that would look strange, a 55-year-old man running around in tights. Yeah, I think Elf is its own entity,’ he said.
But Will is currently starring in another Christmas movie, alongside Ryan Reynolds and Octavia Spencer in Spirited, a modern re-telling of A Christmas Carol.
When being interviewed alongside Octavia though, she floated another idea.
‘[You could] take on the Santa and crown a new elf. Don’t close the door,’ she suggested.
She got an ‘ok’ and ‘the door is ajar’ in response, which means we might just have to settle on a re-watch.
Last month Will revealed that he thought Elf was going to be his last ever movie, but loves that it is still such a hit two decades on.
‘I think because it’s beautifully uncynical…It’s a character who’s excited by everything that is mundane to a person in a normal life, it’s a fish out of water story, it’s very sweet and hopeful and it turns out, it was funny,’ he said.