22 Dec – Ricky Gervais is officially on board to star in the sequel for "The Muppets", taking over as the human lead from Jason Segel, who played Gary in the first instalment. "I have just signed up to play the lead in the next Muppet Movie. I have the biggest trailer but Kermit will spend some time in my sink," tweeted the comedian.
Gervais had a cameo in the first movie but the scene ultimately ended up on the cutting room floor. He will be joining Ty Burrell from the hit television series "Modern Family", who will be playing a villainous character in the form of a lazy Interpol inspector. This will be Gervais' first lead role in a feature film since 2009's "The Invention Of Lying". Meanwhile, Jason Segel has confirmed that he will not be involved with the sequel. The film will see the Muppets travelling to Europe where they end up getting tied up with the law with a mysterious Russian beauty thrown into the fray. "The Muppets" sequel starts production in January 2013.