--- description: Will Ferrell has backed away from playing Ronald Reagan in a comedy after the president's family expressed anger about the project. title: Will Ferrell Drops Out of Ronald Reagan Comedy image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt944b3eee0cc42392/6988913bab6d77ac8d6a97b1/will-ferrell-4.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Will Ferrell Drops Out of Ronald Reagan Comedy  by [Eliza Berman](/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Apr 29, 2016 5:52 PM CUT  NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 09: Actor Will Ferrell attends the "Zoolander 2" World Premiere at Alice Tully Hall on February 9, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/WireImage) NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 09: Actor Will Ferrell attends the "Zoolander 2" World Premiere at Alice Tully Hall on February 9, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/WireImage)Jamie McCarthy—WireImage  by [Eliza Berman](/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Apr 29, 2016 5:52 PM CUT Will Ferrell no longer plans to play Ronald Reagan in a satirical film about the 40th president, according to a Ferrell spokesperson in a _Page Six_ [report](http://pagesix.com/2016/04/29/will-ferrell-pulls-out-of-reagan-alzheimers-comedy/?%5Fga=1.200225132.311405153.1429891917 "undefined"). News surfaced on Wednesday that the comedian would trade in his [George W. Bush wig](http://time.com/4310109/will-ferrell-ronald-reagan-movie/ "undefined") to play Reagan in a comedy focusing on the president’s later years. The plot centered around an intern whose job it was to convince the president, who suffered from Alzheimer’s, that he was in fact an actor playing the role of Commander in Chief. News of the movie prompted an impassioned response from Reagan’s daughter, Patti Davis, who published an [open letter](http://time.com/4312139/ronald-reagans-daughter-criticizes-will-ferrell-for-upcoming-alzheimers-movie/ "undefined") criticizing the film’s irreverent treatment of dementia. “Perhaps you have managed to retain some ignorance about Alzheimer’s and other versions of dementia,” she wrote. “Perhaps if you knew more, you would not find the subject humorous.” “The REAGAN script is one of a number of scripts that had been submitted to Will Ferrell which he had considered,” a spokesperson told _Page Six_. “While it is by no means a ‘Alzheimer’s comedy’ as has been suggested, Mr. Ferrell is not pursuing this project.” The film’s announcement came at an early stage in its development, as it still has neither financing nor a director. It remains to be seen whether the script, a favorite on Hollywood’s Black List of unproduced screenplays, will move forward with a new star. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4312728/will-ferrell-ronald-reagan-comedy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4312728/will-ferrell-ronald-reagan-comedy/"},"headline":"Will Ferrell Drops Out of Ronald Reagan Comedy","datePublished":"2016-04-29T17:52:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:09:21.045Z","description":"The announcement comes after the former president's daughter expressed outrage","url":"https://time.com/4312728/will-ferrell-ronald-reagan-comedy/","keywords":["movies","Ronald Reagan","Will Ferrell"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt944b3eee0cc42392/6988913bab6d77ac8d6a97b1/will-ferrell-4.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliza Berman","jobTitle":"Berman is a senior editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt944b3eee0cc42392/6988913bab6d77ac8d6a97b1/will-ferrell-4.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"\"Zoolander 2\" World Premiere","caption":"\"Zoolander 2\" World Premiere","creditText":"Jamie McCarthy—WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4312728/will-ferrell-ronald-reagan-comedy/","name":"Will Ferrell Drops Out of Ronald Reagan Comedy"}}]}] ```