What is up with Jason Segel and puppets? In Forgetting Sarah Marshall, he performed his own Dracula musical and now he has an entire film featuring them with The Muppets. The buzz has been glowing on for the return of Kermit, Miss Piggy and the gang, but Segel has more puppet tricks up his sleeve.
Speaking with The Playlist, the How I Met Your Mother actor reveals he may be returning to his early beginnings in Hollywood. When he was a young 21-year-old the actor sold a script to an unnamed studio and since he hadn’t made a splash yet, it sat on a shelf. Now beginning one of the biggest names in comedy (a stature that should only rise when Disney releases The Muppets this month), Segel bought the script back and describes it as “a kids adventure movie in the style of Goonies or Labyrinth or something like that.”
He is planning on making it his next project, and saying it will have a mix of puppetry and live-action. He said, “there are parts I could play, but I’d be happy to just produce it. It’s a really cool kids adventure story and there could be puppets involved. I have an idea for a type of puppet I’ve never seen before.” We’ll see with The Muppets, but I’m more in favor of strict live-action comedy from Segel, as I loved him in everything from Knocked Up to I Love, You Man, starting off with his early Freaks & Geeks days. With J.J. Abrams not quite nailing the Goonies-vibe we were all hoping for in Super 8, maybe Segel will be our savior?
He will also be seen in the Duplass Brothers‘ Jeff, Who Lives at Home (which I found a little disappointign at TIFF), as well as the next two films from Nicholas Stoller, The Five-Year Engagement and Sex Tape. He also has a bit part in Judd Apatow‘s psuedo-sequel to Knocked Up, This is Forty, where is says he “just pops in” as a cameo. And, of course, The Muppets arrives on November 23rd.
What do you think about this potential project from Segel? Looking forward to The Muppets?