It's been quiet on the 'Muppet 2' front for a while. We knew that James Bobin would return to write and direct, with writing assistance from Nicholas Stoller, and we knew that the sequel would be Jason Segel-free. But it looks like now they've started the casting process for the next film, and the first name is a bit of a surprise: Christoph Waltz.

This comes from The Hollywood Reporter, and they he's negotiating to play a Interpol inspector and mention that the film will be set in Europe. Such suggests that this will be similar in tone and design to 'The Great Muppet Caper,' which was also set abroad. The role sounds meaty, could mean he would be something of a villain, though THR also says the human leads will include a "Russian femme fatale and a male lead whose intentions are always in question."

Though the Austrian-born Waltz has a serious face, he's been great as comic support. He knows how to deliver Quentin Tarantino's sharp dialogue, and though he wasn't well served 'The Green Hornet,' but he was quiet funny in Roman Polanski's 'Carnage' and on the Jimmy Kimmel show. Here's a clip of him doing silliness very well on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live':

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