The sequel to 2011's The Muppets is about to start shooting in London this month, with everyone's favourite felt folk on a European adventure with that Ricky Gervais chap people seem so fond of. Joining them - at least for a little while - will be Ray Liotta, in an as-yet undisclosed role.

The cast list so far includes 30 Rock's Tina Fey, who'll be playing a Russian gulag guard - set Russian accent to silly! - and Modern Family's Ty Burrell, whose role has be described as that of a "lazy Interpol inspector". 

What Ray Liotta's role will be is anyone's guess. Considering this is a caper around Europe, perhaps an Italian mobster might be on the cards? What he'll actually get up to remains to be seen, but here's hoping the director of the original, James Bobin, can pull off the same trick with a script he co-wrote with Nicolas Stoller. What's more, they'll have to be careful to avoid treading the turf of the similar-sounding Madagascar 3 - though the Dreamworks threequel was unquestionably a huge amount of fun. 

Interestingly, Ray Liotta is one of the very few people who can say they've appeared in two Muppets movies, after previously mucking about with Kermit and co. for 1999's Muppets In Space. You can also look forward to seeing more of Mr. Liotta in the upcoming Sin City sequel, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.

The Muppets 2 is aiming for a March 21, 2014 release date.