Will Ferrell was slated to appear on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday, but legendary San Diego news anchor Ron Burgundy showed up in his place.
Though Ferrell was billed as the lead guest in the opening credits of Fallon’s show, when Fallon introduced the actor, Ferrell came out as his character from Anchorman. When a “surprised” Fallon asked Burgundy what he was doing on the show, the newsman explained he had been wandering around New York City for Fleet Week (which ended weeks ago).
Even without Ferrell appearing as himself, the actor’s latest project, Despicable Me 4, loomed large over the improv-heavy segment. Ferrell-as-Burgundy claimed he had seen a bootleg copy of the new Universal Pictures film and gave it a glowing review.
“It might be the greatest movie of all time,” Burgundy raved of the Minions’ latest outing—though he noted it “really levels off” when Ferrell’s character appears.
Burgundy stayed past the break to play a game of “Movie Catchphrase.” In the game, Burgundy is stumped by the most obvious clues about classic films. He and Fallon devolved into an improvised game about naming the best boys who worked on various movies, though Fallon eventually got the game back on track so it could culminate in a second pitch for Despicable Me 4.
Next month marks 20 years since Ferrell (and former SNL head writer Adam McKay) first introduced the world to Burgundy’s character in the 2004 film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Ferrell reprised the role in a 2013 sequel, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, and has occasionally brought the character back since then.
In August 2019, Burgundy pulled an unheard-of late-night takeover to promote his iHeart interview podcast, The Ron Burgundy Podcast. Ferrell brought the character to six different late-night shows, all airing on the same night: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Late Late Show with James Corden, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and Conan.
