Disney has signed a deal with Forgetting Sarah Marshall writer/actor Jason Segel and director Nick Stoller to make a Muppet movie.
A plot twist in the upcoming live action comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall has led to Disney reviving the Muppets.
Variety reports that the Mouse House has asked the film's writer/leading actor Jason Segel and director Nick Stoller to develop a new Muppets movie.
In Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which was produced by comedy mogul Judd (Knocked Up) Apatow, Segel plays a TV composer who is working on a Dracula musical featuring puppets. The Muppet group made the custom creations for the movie, and Segel was so emboldened by the experience that he pitched a Muppets movie concept to Disney executive Kristin Burr during a general meeting. Burr liked what she heard, and she and Segel inked a deal on the spot.
Segel then enlisted Stoller to co-write the script and direct the film. It's unclear how the duo plans to revive the Muppets franchise, but there is no shortage of interest in Jim Henson's cloth creations. The Muppet Show Seasons One and Two DVD's have been hot sellers for Disney Home Video, with Season 3 coming to DVD shelves on May 20th.
Segel and Stoller also have the live action flick The Five Year Engagement in the works for Universal. The comedy is about a man (Segel) who keeps on putting off his wedding.
