The Muppets took the world by storm last year, doing well in the eyes of audiences and critics alike, and scoring a tidy sum of 8m. at the box office for Disney. Naturally, all eyes were soon turning to The Muppets 2, the as-yet-untitled sequel, and we’ve been hearing some great developments in recent months.
Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) was originally to come on board last month, but the brilliant Ty Burrell (Modern Family) has since replaced him, and is set to star as a lazy Interpol agent in the upcoming sequel.
And now THR report that the equally hilarious Ricky Gervais (The Office, The Invention of Lying) is in talks to take the leading human role, which is being described as comparative to that of Jason Segel from the original film.
The report notes that there are three leading human roles for the project, and if all goes well, Gervais and Burrell will be taking two of them, and it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to imagine that the third one will be for a female lead. So with any luck, we’ll be hearing of a brilliant actress coming on board in the very near future.
James Bobin, who helmed last year’s original film, will be back behind the camera, directing from a script he co-wrote with Nicholas Stoller (The Muppets).
Bret McKenzie, the Oscar-winning songwriter (and, of course, actor) behind the music of the first film, is already writing new music for the film, which is nothing but good news.
The plot is currently being kept under wraps, but we do know that the film is set to shoot here in the UK at Pinewood Studios, with Bobin reportedly scouting St. Paul’s Cathedral as a possible location last month.
The Muppets sequel is expected to being production in late January, so here’s to hoping that we’ll have confirmation on Gervais’ casting very soon, along with what I’m hoping will be a strong female lead. More as we get it. And for now, here’s a brilliant little slice of Gervais comedy magic, alongside Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington. Enjoy.
[yframe url=’www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjT0D0cWbbE’]
