Ricky Gervais in Talks for Muppets Sequel

We've known for a while now that Jason Segel would not be returning to The Muppets, a franchise he helped resurrect on the big screen. And that's not a bad-blood thing, either. Segel was thrilled that his crusade to bring The Muppets back to relevancy finally paid off, it was just never his plan to turn The Muppets into his own franchise. Disney thinks Kermit and friends still need a lead human counterpart, though, and they've apparently found one in a very unlikely place: Ricky Gervais.

That's right. The brash, British comedian who revels in controversy is reportedly in talks to be the two-legged anchor for the untitled Muppets sequel. And if that makes you shake your head at The Muppets, well, that's understandable. Gervais is by his own engineering a divisive personality, but just because he can make famous people feel horrible, doesn't mean he's a horrible person himself.

He's actually written a series of children's books called Flanimals, which have also been optioned for the big screen, so he's certainly got a soft side. And while some may not like his style of comedy, he's actually a very good actor. Just look at the end of the?Extras Christmas Special for an example of that. Warning, it does have some NSFW language in it, but the performance and sentiment are fantastic.

And, at the end of the day, director James Bobin and writer Nicholas Stoller are returning, anyway, so it's not like Gervais will be hijacking the ship. We're sure the Muppets gang?is still in safe hands, but what do you think?

Follow along on Twitter: @PeterSHall and @Moviesdotcom.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1926511/news/1926511/

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