"I killed Elf 2!"

When your current success owes a big debt to comedy hits that you’re not sure you need to revisit, life can be tough for a film star. Either you close the door to the past, or you end up making Ghostbusters 2 – and we all know how that turned out.

Will Ferrell is dealing with that situation right now, as people continue to badger him about the possibility of a sequel to Chrimbo charmer Elf. But it looks like he shot the idea down when New Line approached him about it. While the company may yet make it, the Will Ferrell version is dead. “Elf 2 got killed," Ferrell told Moviehole. "I killed Elf 2."

More possible right now is the follow-up to Old School, which Todd Phillips has already said he’s writing in the hopes that he can lure Luke Wilson and particularly Ferrell back for a story that explores more of the Frank The Tank character. "Old School 2 is apparently being written," Ferrell commented. “That’s still a possibility.”

For much, much more Ferrell goodness, check out our interview with him in the comedy issue of Total Film.