Film News: James Bobin, Nichols Stoller Sign on For ‘The Muppets’ Sequel

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CHICAGO – Here’s some news that will bring joy to those that think life’s a happy song. Director James Bobin and writer Nicholas Stoller have officially signed on to create a sequel to “The Muppets.” However, the good news does come with some bad news as well. Apparently, Jason Segel’s schedule is too full to fit in the next Muppet project.

Segel was the driving force behind “The Muppets,” which released this past fall, and he also starred in the film and co-wrote the script. Segel has been a Muppet fan all his life and wanted to bring Kermit and all his friends into the 21st century with a bang. While we can be excited that Bobin will once again be directing and Stoller writing, we will have to wait and see if the loss of Segel effects the way the film ends up.

The other major factor is whether or not the now Oscar winning songwriter Bret McKenzie will once again write music for the next movie. McKenzie, who just won Best Original Song at the Oscars this past Sunday for his song “Man or Muppet,” was a big part of the team that brought the Muppets to life this past year as his songs were essential to the movie. Most likely the decision of hiring McKenzie would come after a script is actually written and the project is officially green lit, but it is still fun to speculate. At the very least, we know plans are in motion to bring the Muppets back to the big screen once again.

By TIM MARTENS Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com tim@hollywoodchicago.com