Jason Segel not acting in or writing ‘Muppets’ sequel

We already knew that the sequel to the most charming movie of last year was coming, but it was still not sure whether Jason Segel would return. The entire film was a passion project of his and he not only acted in it but was heavily involved in writing it and bringing his vision on screen along with Nicholas Stoller and James Bobin. Now, he’s confirmed that he will not be writing or acting in the sequel.

James Bobin has closed the deal to direct the film once again with co-writer Nicholas Stoller writing the script without Segel’s involvement, possibly because of scheduling issues. But then later to Collider, Segel had this to say:

It’s true [that I'm not involved writing the sequel] but it’s totally amicable. My goal was to bring The Muppets back and I did that, leaving them in very good hands, my writing partner and James Bobin the director. I did what I set out to do, and now I wanna pursue more human-related projects (laughs)… All I wanted to do was to set the stage for them to do whatever they wanted. I’m sure I’ll return in some capacity here and there, but that was half a decade of my life. Five years of hard work. I’m ready for a little puppet break.

Pretty much confirms that he won’t be starring as the lead in the sequel, but still leaves room open for a cameo which wouldn’t be surprising considering ‘The Muppets’ had more than a dozen of them. I really hope that the remaining creatives figure out the plot and stay true to the spirit of the original without dumbing it down and making it another ‘Smurfs’ movie. But I’ll definitely miss Segel’s involvement in a project that he revived.

What about you?