On the heels of the great success of 2011’s The Muppet Movie, bringing the Muppets back to the forefront of our hearts and minds and exposing them to a whole new generation, work has begun on the next installment. The sequel to The Muppet Movie will be called “The Muppets…Again” and while Jason Segel is not involved in the movie this time around, the rest of the filmmaking team is back in place and ready to make some Muppet-filled magic. Here is the official press release about the work in progress, hitting theatres in March of 2014:
The filmmaking team behind 2011âs celebrated film âThe Muppetsâ reunites as Disneyâs âThe Muppets ⊠Again!â kicked off production last week in London. The all-new global Muppets adventure welcomes Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell and Tina Fey to the mayhem, along with Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Walter and rest of the Muppets. The film is directed by James Bobin (âFlight of the Conchords,â âDa Ali G Showâ), who was just nominated for a BAFTA for âThe Muppetsâ (Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer), and produced by the Academy AwardÂź-nominated team of David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman (âThe Fighter,â âThe Proposalâ). With a screenplay by Bobin and Nicholas Stoller (âThe Five-Year Engagementâ), who is also executive producer with John Scotti, âThe Muppets ⊠Again!â will feature music from Academy AwardÂź-winning songwriter Bret McKenzie (âFlight of the Conchordsâ), who won an OscarÂź for best original song for âThe Muppetsâ (âMan or Muppetâ). The new film will hit the big screen March 21, 2014.
âItâs great to be back working with the Muppets,â said Bobin, âsome of them even remember my name occasionally now. As for the movie, itâs a tip of the hat to the old-school crime capers of the â60s, but featuring a frog, a pig, a bear and a dogâno panthers, even pink onesâalong with the usual Muppet-y mix of mayhem, music and laughs.â
Disneyâs âThe Muppets âŠAgain!â takes the entire Muppets gang on a global tour, selling out grand theaters in some of Europeâs most exciting destinations, including Berlin, Madrid and London. But mayhem follows the Muppets overseas, as they find themselves unwittingly entangled in an international crime caper headed by Constantineâthe Worldâs Number One Criminal and a dead ringer for Kermitâand his dastardly sidekick Dominic, aka Number Two, portrayed by Ricky Gervais, creator of âDerekâ and the Golden GlobeÂź- and EmmyÂź-winning series âThe Officeâ and âExtras.â The film stars Golden Globe-, Emmy- and SAG AwardÂź-winning actress and writer Tina Fey (â30 Rock,â âMean Girls,â âDate Nightâ) as Nadya, a feisty prison guard, and Emmy Award winner Ty Burrell (TVâs âModern Familyâ) as Interpol agent Jean Pierre Napoleon.
Said Kermit the Frog, âThis movie takes us places weâve never been before. And trust meâthis frog has never seen so much international flavor. I think audiences will eat it upâthe entertainment, that is.â
Featuring a slew of surprising celebrity cameos, Disneyâs âThe Muppets ⊠Again!â will shoot on location in London and in Hollywood, as well as in the famed Pinewood Studios in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, just outside of London.
Muppets in England? Sign me up! Can’t wait to see where the Muppets and their human friends take us this time around.