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Tina Fey, Ricky Gervais star in 'Muppets Most Wanted' – here's the trailer, which pokes fun at sequels

Tina Fey and Ty Burrell star in the new Muppets film 'Muppets Most Wanted.' In the new trailer, the Muppets perform the parody song 'We're Doing a Sequel.' Tina Fey recently starred in 'Admission.'

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Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Tina Fey (l.), Ricky Gervais (r.), and the Kermit doppelganger Constantine (center) star in the film 'Muppets Most Wanted.'
  • By Sandy Schaefer Screen Rant

Last time in the world of The Muppets, Kermit and the gang had reunited, only to fail – then succeed – at saving their old studio. Now, their popularity restored, the beloved crew of googly-eyed characters are headed overseas to Europe, where they get caught up in a comical caper (hopefully another “Great” one) that involves Kermit’s evil doppelgänger – who secretly swaps places with the Muppets’ froggy leader – in a sequel to the 2011 Muppets franchise relaunch, titled Muppets Most Wanted.

Past trailers for the upcoming Muppets romp were conventional in design, but the latest promo ditches tradition in favor of a music video format (which appears to include at least some footage from the opening scene for Muppets Most Wanted). Here, we see the Muppets crew perform “We’re Doing a Sequel” – a tune that was presumably cooked up by the returning songwriter Bret McKenzie (who won an Oscar for his work on The Muppets) – picking up right after the conclusion to the last movie, with the Muppets in their typical cheeky, self-deprecating, pop culture-riffing form.

Genreally-speaking, anticipation for Muppets Most Wanted doesn’t seem to be quite as high as that for its predecessor three years ago, but not necessarily because the film seems that less appealing to most people. After all, The Muppets was not only the first Muppet-y flick in some time, but it also built up expectations through a clever trailer parody campaign – before delivering a final product that yanked down hard on many an older Muppets fan’s nostalgia chain.

By comparison, the Muppets sequel advertising has playfully mocked Internet comments, but has otherwise painted Muppets Most Wanted as being standard fare for the Muppets – not a special event, like the 2011 movie.

Still, Muppets director – and McKenzie’s fellow Flight of the Conchords alum – James Bobin is back at the helm, along with Nicholas Stoller as his co-writer (though, minus Jason Seagull). So, if you were a fan of the previous Muppets flick’s humor, then Most Wanted should also provide you with a fair share of laughs (see:the “Sequel Song” number).

The human celebrities who make an appearance in the latest Muppets jam include Tina Fey, Ricky Gervais, and Ty Burrell, along with Selma Hayek, Danny Trejo, Tom Hiddleston, Christoph Waltz, and many, many more.

Sandy Schaefer blogs at Screen Rant.

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