Don’t expect to see Jim Carrey in Whoville anytime soon. After some reports surfaced online claiming that the Saturday Night Live alum would make his return as the title character in a How The Grinch Stole Christmas sequel, a rep for the actor denied the reports in a statement to People on Tuesday, November 21.
Jim’s representative kept it short and revealed that the reports were wrong. “There is no truth to Jim reprising his role as the Grinch in a sequel to The Grinch,” they told the outlet.
Jim’s portrayal of the Grinch has made the 2000 movie a modern holiday classic. The actor, 61, was covered in green fur and makeup to bring the character from Dr. Seuss’ classic 1957 children’s book to life. In the film, he plots to ruin Christmas and take all the holiday cheer from his nearby neighboring town of Whoville. Ron Howard directed the family film, and it also starred rocker and actress Taylor Momsen as Cindy Lou Who. Molly Shannon, Jeffrey Tambor, Clint Howard , and Christine Baranski also starred as some of the residents of Whoville.
In addition to the live-action film, Dr. Seuss’ novel was adapted for an animated film in 2018. That movie featured Benedict Cumberbatch as the voice of The Grinch. Rashida Jones, Kenan Thompson, Angela Lansbury, and Pharrell Williams also voiced characters in the movie.
The rumors came about a year after Jim’s starring role in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, where he played Dr. Robotnik. During promotions for that film, the actor admitted that he was planning on retiring in an interview with Variety. “Well, I’m retiring. Yeah, probably. I’m being fairly serious,” he said.
Despite saying that he was “serious” about retiring, Jim did admit that “it depends” on if he’ll make his return. ” If the angels bring some sort of script that’s written in gold ink that says to me that it’s going to be really important for people to see, I might continue down the road, but I’m taking a break,” he explained.