Tina Fey in Talks to Join Ricky Gervais for MUPPETS Sequel

According to the Hollywood Reporter, comedy goddess Tina Fey is officially in talks to take on a lead role in Disney's upcoming MUPPETS sequel.

Should Fey accept, she would join Ricky Gervais and MODERN FAMILY's Ty Burrell as the lead human characters in the film. The site reports that Fey would play a Russian prison guard.

Though the script is being kept heavily under wraps, Fey, Gervais, and Burrell would join Kermit, Miss Piggy, and the infamous Muppet clain in a European adventure. James Bobin, who helmed the MUPPETS movie in 2011, has signed on once again to direct. He also co-wrote the sequel alongside Nicholas Stoller.

The 2011 film, which starred Jason Segel (who is not returning for the sequel), followed Walter and his friends Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams) from Smalltown, USA, discover the nefarious plan of oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to raze the Muppet Theater and drill for the oil recently discovered beneath the Muppets' former stomping grounds. To stage The Greatest Muppet Telethon Ever and raise the $10 million needed to save the theater, Walter, Mary and Gary help Kermit reunite the Muppets, who have all Gone their separate ways: Fozzie now performs with a Reno casino tribute band called the Moopets, Miss Piggy is a plus-size fashion editor at Vogue Paris, Animal is in a Santa Barbara clinic for anger management, and Gonzo is a high-powered plumbing magnate. The film was released on Nov. 23, 2011.

The first Muppet outing of the new millenium arose when Segel and Stoller approached Disney in 2008 with the idea of reviving the Muppet characters into a feature length film.

Fey is also set to host the Golden Globes on Jan. 13 with former SNL co-star Amy Poehler.

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