It's Time to Play The Music...
Tue, June 8, 2010 
Today's Muppet News Flash: the Walt Disney Studios has set an official release date of December 25, 2011 for the as-yet untitled (and still not officially greenlit) new Muppet movie, according to a report at Film School Rejects.
The new film, which will mark first big-screen appearance of the Muppets since 1999's Muppets From Space, is being written by Forgetting Sarah Marshall writers Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller, and will be directed by Flight of the Conchords' James Bobin. No official word yet on a title, but rumored titles have included The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made and The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made (which was originally the title of an unproduced film idea by Jim Henson that involved Gonzo blowing the entire film's budget on the opening credits).
Segel will reportedly also star in the movie, playing "a human named Gary, whose best friend is the puppet bear Walter. Together they go on a journey with Gary's girlfriend Mary to defeat the evil Tex Richman, a man who doesn't find the Muppets funny and think he can smell oil beneath their studio."
Sounds a bit like the plot from the original Muppet Movie, minus the creepy frog-legs restaurant part. Segel is said to be a huge fan of the Muppets, and is planning for the new movie to be in the spirit of the original three films, which includes the usual parade of celebrity cameos (including Sean Penn, according to /Film). No word yet if any new songs will be part of the film, although I hope so.
I'm a big fan of the Muppets as well, and it sounds like the new film is in good hands. Let's hope it's as good as the original films, which are still just as hilarious as they were when they were new.
Reader Comments (1)
Awesome! I wonder if Segel will include his dracula muppet song from Sarah Marshall. That was great.