It's not quite time to play the music and light the lights, but we do know that Disney is in fact putting together a sequel to 'The Muppets.' The first film was directed by James Bobin, and co-written by Jason Segel with an outstanding soundtrack by 'Flight of the Conchords' Bret McKenzie. Unfortunately, Segal will not be returning, but Bobin will once again be in the director's chair and we know that McKenzie is writing new songs for the sequel. We also know that the cast so far includes Ricky Gervais ('The Invention of Lying') and Ty Burrell ('Modern Family'); Burrell filling in for Christoph Waltz who had to bow out of playing the movie's villain. Now it appears '30 Rock's Tina Fey is in negotiations to play the female lead in 'The Muppets 2.' Fey will be hosting the Golden Globes this coming Sunday alongside Amy Poehler ('Parks and Recreation'). Sources are reporting her character would be a Russian gulag prison guard. No deal has yet been finalized.

Tina Fey is without question one of the funniest people working in comedy today, and I'm very excited about the prospect of her joining...wait, did they say Russian gulag prison guard? I'm sorry, what? There have been rumors that the plot of 'The Muppets' sequel will revolve around a caper (a great Muppet caper perhaps?), a theory supported at least in some small fashion by the fact that Ty Burrell's character is a dastardly Interpol inspector. It's easy to see how a prison guard, of any nationality, would work into a crime film, but how a no-doubt exaggerated caricature would translate into the female lead of the movie is a bit of a head-scratcher. Not that you couldn't come up with a story that found our fine felted friends in the company of a Russian prison guard, but I can image that 90 minutes of a fake Russian accent from any performer would become rather grating. That aside, I'm really pleased at the idea of Fey presenting a counterbalance for Gervais, who I find to be a little insufferable in films. He's great on TV, and he's great when roasting celebrities during award shows, but his aggressive pessimism tends to suck the energy out of the movies in which he's starred. Hopefully the two will balance each other well. 

What do you guys think? Happy at the prospect of Fey coming aboard 'Muppets 2?' Would a silly one-note character like a Russian prison guard work as a female lead?

Source: THR