British comic actor Ricky Gervais is set to star alongside Ty Burrell as one of the few humans who will appear opposite the Muppets in the forthcoming sequel to last year’s hit The Muppets. The Hollywood Reporter is stating that Gervais is currently in talks to appear in the as-yet-unnamed sequel in an unspecified role, though his amount of screen time should be similar to that of Jason Segal’s who starred in the first film, making him the film’s lead human character.
In addition to Gervais and Burrell, there is reportedly one other lead character, a woman, who has not been cast yet.
Gervais had been slated to appear in a short cameo in 2011’s The Muppets and had even filmed his part only to have it hit the cutting room floor. He can be briefly glimpsed in the background in the film’s big closing number. It remains to be seen if Gervais will be singing more in this new film as the script is under tight wraps.
Personally, I think that Gervais’s dry sense of humor will make a nice compliment to the Muppets more wacky antics. Hopefully, this will come out in James Bobin and Nicholas Stoller’s screenplay.
The untitled Muppets sequel is set to start filming in London early next year.
