U2's The Edge Wrote a Full 'Elf' Sequel Script, Andy Richter Says

U2 guitarist The Edge wrote a fully finished script for a sequel to Elf, according to actor Andy Richter. Richter made the claim on Obsessed: The Podcast, as Variety reported on 7 November 2026. The Edge's real name is David Howell Evans.

Richter said the film's producer, Shauna Robertson, was contacted about the script and agreed to meet him. The project then petered out, and the sequel never happened.

The podcast also covered a second, separate attempt. Richter said writer Scot Armstrong, who helped write the 2003 original, had written his own sequel script. In that version, evil elves at the South Pole kidnap Santa. Richter said Armstrong got no on-screen writing credit on the first film for what he described as guild and procedural reasons. Guild rules, set by the writers' union, decide who is named as a screenwriter.

Richter also told the podcast why several attempts to make an Elf sequel have failed, according to The Daily Beast, which published its report on 5 November 2026.

Richter has a stake in the film's history. He appeared briefly in Elf as one of Walter Hobbs' colleagues, and he co-wrote a new book, Elf Unwrapped: Behind the Scenes of a Modern Christmas Classic. The film was directed by Jon Favreau. Will Ferrell played Buddy, the human raised by elves, and James Caan played Walter Hobbs. Zooey Deschanel and Mary Steenburgen co-starred.

The book has produced a run of stories. The Hollywood Reporter published an excerpt that traces how Will Ferrell came to replace Chris Farley in the lead. In a Collider interview, Richter discussed the film's connection to Katie Holmes and a raunchier cut of the movie.

For fans, the common thread is simple. The idea of a second Elf has been circling for years, and so far the only sequel script with a finished draft has stayed on the page.