We’re not sure why the news exclusively reported by Vulture earlier today that Jason Segel won’t be collaborating with his original co-writer Nicholas Stoller on the sequel to The Muppets makes us so sad. He’s got plenty of good reasons — his role on How I Met Your Mother; a few new movies that he has to promote; and the fact that the Academy wouldn’t let the Muppets perform their adorable Best Song winner at the Oscars, a dick move which we’d wager broke his heart into a million little pieces. And yet it just feels wrong to us, like maybe all Segel really needs is an inspirational speech from Kermit and a stirring musical number to remind him of what’s really important in life — his beloved Muppets! You don’t spend years convincing Disney to resurrect a franchise, release a movie that’s well-liked by audiences and critics, and then just walk away from it all. There are rules!
Apparently Disney insiders say that there’s still a chance that Segel will reprise his role as Gary in the new film, but frankly, we’re more interested in the magic that he worked behind-the-camera on this one. How about you?