Ferrell: 'Actors' pay shelved Anchorman 2'

Will Ferrell has revealed that paying the actors was one reason why plans for a sequel to Anchorman were scrapped.

The comedian, who starred in the 2004 comedy, admitted that the film couldn't be made on a small budget because of the stars' potential salaries.

He told Collider: "If you're getting myself, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd and probably a bunch of other people who would line up to be in that movie, it's going to cost a certain amount.

"We were basically begged to for years and years, like, 'Would you guys ever do a sequel? Would you ever do a sequel?' We warmed up to the idea and we were like, 'That could actually be a lot of fun'."

He added: "And we got everyone together and then they were basically like, 'Great! We can't believe it! But you have to do it for this amount'. And we were like, 'Oh, well there’s no way we can do it for that'. Right now the ball is in their court."

However, in April Ferrell's writing partner Adam McKay wrote on Twitter: "So bummed. Paramount basically passed on Anchorman 2. Even after we cut our budget down. We tried."