Among the stranger bits of Hollywood lore to surface lately, the idea of U2 guitarist The Edge drafting an entire feature film screenplay sits near the top of the pile. David Howell Evans has spent five decades refining guitar textures for global stadiums, yet there was a point when his creative energies were evidently aimed at the world of holiday slapstick. According to actor and comedian Andy Richter, Evans once wrote a complete script for a sequel to Elf, the 2003 Christmas comedy starring Will Ferrell.
Richter, who played publishing office worker Morris alongside Kyle Gass in the original film, shared the account while promoting his book, Elf Unwrapped: The Making Of A Modern Christmas Classic. Speaking on Obsessed: The Podcast, Richter recalled how original producer Shauna Robertson found herself on the receiving end of a full draft for Elf 2 straight from the U2 guitarist. This was not an offhand suggestion pitched casually over coffee, but a finished script that Evans had personally assembled.
Richter labeled it the weirdest story he encountered, noting that a physical script written by The Edge still exists somewhere out in the world today. While Richter admitted he would genuinely love to read it, the project never gathered genuine steam. Robertson agreed to a meeting out of polite curiosity, but the momentum soon died down, and the draft never made it anywhere near pre-production. Discussing the episode again on Page Six Radio, Richter reiterated that the pitch simply fizzled out, suffering the quiet fate that swallows countless Hollywood concepts before cameras ever roll.
Evans was not the only writer attempting to capitalize on the success of the holiday hit. On Obsessed: The Podcast, Richter explained that screenwriter Scot Armstrong, who contributed to the original Elf and later wrote The Hangover Part 2, also drafted a follow-up script. Armstrong took the narrative in an entirely different direction, centering on a rogue faction of evil South Pole elves who stage a kidnapping of Santa Claus. Much like the treatment penned by Evans, Armstrong's concept was shelved and left to gather dust.
For his part, Richter believes leaving both concepts unmade was the right choice. Over the years, the original movie has secured a protected place in seasonal viewing, and Richter noted that both audiences and filmmakers have become wary of tampering with the formula. In his view, ill-advised follow-ups routinely tarnish beloved originals, making it difficult to justify risking the enduring goodwill a film has earned across multiple generations.
With any screenwriting ambitions safely confined to the filing cabinet, Evans remains fully occupied with U2. The group recently introduced songs from their upcoming 16th studio album, Carnaval De Luz, during an intimate performance at London's Tate Modern Museum, ahead of the record's release on November 13. The preview arrived shortly after September concerts in Dublin celebrating the band's 50 years together, with plans already set for a massive world tour in 2027. Whatever prompted the guitarist to envision a second chapter for Buddy the Elf, his attention is firmly back where it has always been, commanding arena stages rather than writing holiday punchlines.
