I looked through the release dates just to make sure and, yep, The Muppets tops my holiday movie wishlist.  If only Muppets were promised, that would be enough.  Instead, the movie stars Jason Segel and Amy Adams, two of the most affable actors Hollywood has to offer, and a perfectly wholesome match to the material.

So it is with pride that we present this exclusive new standee, which you should start to see in theaters next month.  Thankfully, the image Disney sent over is very high resolution, because by my count there are at least 40 Muppets crowding around Segel and Adams in the frame.  Count for yourself after the jump.  The Muppets opens on November 23.

Update: We’ve added the final poster for The Muppets after the standee.

The international poster for The Muppets has been released, confirming that if you don’t like the Muppets, you have no soul. Seriously, try to look at this poster and not smile. Directed by James Bobin, the film stars Jason Segel, Amy Adams and Chris Cooper. The marketing campaign has been in full-swing, kicking off with a trio of genre-parodying trailers (does this poster look familiar?) that culminated with the actual full trailer for the film.

Hit the jump to check out the poster. The Muppets hits theaters November 23^rd. And if you missed any of Steve’s set-visit coverage, catch up here.

It’s that time of the week again: a time when I completely overlook the plethora of coverage we’ve provided our readers with in the preceding week, all in the name of bringing you the best stories we have to offer. In this week’s “Top 5″ installment you’ll find all kinds of premium content such as Michael Caine’s potential The Dark Knight Rises spoiler, our set visit coverage of The Muppets, the first images from Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit, producer Dean Devlin talking about potential sequels for Independence Day and Stargate, and our exclusive interview with Frank Darabont and producer Gale Anne Hurd regarding AMC’s The Walking Dead.

Hit the jump to find brief recaps and links to each.

A batch of new images from Disney’s The Muppets has been released. Following three different parody trailers, the first real trailer for the film was released the other day, and it looks fantastic. The Muppets stars Jason Segel, Amy Adams, and Chris Cooper and opens on November 23^rd.

In case you missed them, check out Steve’s on-set interviews with Amy Adams, Jason Segel, co-writer Nicholas Stoller and director James Bobin, as well as his full set visit report video blog. Hit the jump to check out the new images.

Earlier this year I got to visit the set of The Muppets when the movie was filming on location in Glendale, California.   While on set I got to watch Amy Adams and Jason Segel interact with Kermit and a ton of other Muppets in an outdoor sequence involving a car.  In between filming, I participated in a group interview with director James Bobin (Flight of the Conchords).  While Bobin was extremely busy, we spoke for about ten minutes and he told us how he got involved in the project, how The Muppets Show influenced him as a child, the challenges of working with puppets rather than humans, does the film break the fourth wall, and the difficulty of composing a shot with Segel, Adams, and Kermit the Frog.  Hit the jump to either read or listen to the interview.

A new trailer for The Muppets has been released, and it follows along the lines of the previous two in that it’s a parody. The first trailer that was released was a bit of a head fake, as it begins as a romantic comedy before revealing the actual Muppets. The subsequent trailer was a little less inspired, but still cute, as it directly parodied the marketing for The Hangover Part II. This time, the Muppets take on Green Lantern, and it’s pretty damn amusing. I especially like Jason Segel’s meta joke towards the end.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer for “Being Green”. The Muppets stars Jason Segel, Amy Adams, and Chris Cooper.  Written by Segel and Nicholas Stoller, the film opens November 23rd.

The first trailer for The Muppets has gone online.  It takes a little while to get to the actual Muppets, but stick through the trailer for the first 50 seconds and you’ll get there.  This is really more of an announcement trailer, and I’m not sure what will set this Muppets movie apart, but creating a trailer that basically goes “Surprise!  Muppets!” isn’t a bad way to start.  I’m slightly confused by the set-up of a fake Jason Segel/Amy Adams romance flick called Green with Envy, but I’ll go with it for now.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer for The Muppets and the poster for Green with Envy.  The Muppets also stars Chris Cooper, Rashida Jones, and a slew of celebrity cameos.  The film opens November 23rd.

The Muppets Movie will be making their debut at the beginning of the holiday season rather than the end.  While the film was originally slated for Christmas 2011, Walt Disney Studios has announced that the movie will open on November 23, 2011.  This new date will put The Muppets against Aardman’s animated film Arthur Christmas and Todd Phillips’ comedy Project X.

Hit the jump for the official announcement from Disney.  The Muppets Movie stars Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, and Rashida Jones.

With the litany of casting reports for Disney’s new Muppets movie that have been published, it’s been hard to keep track of who is officially in the movie. Well, apparently a few of them had jumped the gun. A few weeks ago we told you that the previously reported Jane Lynch was not attached to the movie, and now word comes that Paul Rudd will not be in it either. Speaking with MTV News, Rudd said,

“I wish that I was [in it]. It’s all rumor… I wanted to be in it, and I talked to Jason, but I think there was some things that happened and I don’t know if I’m gonna get to do it.”

Rudd was believed to be voicing a new muppet named Walter.  The flick, which stars Jason Segel and Amy Adams, is currently filming in LA. You can see set pictures and a synopsis for the film here. James Bobin (Flight of the Conchords) directs from a script by Segel and Nicholas Stoller (Get Him to the Greek). For a full list of the actors reported to be involved in the film in some capacity, hit the jump.

Would anyone following Jason Segel’s The Muppets be remotely surprised if it was announced that more people have joined the cast? Today, two more names have been added to the incredibly large list of high-profile celebrities appearing in the film. Also, along with the casting news comes a bunch of new photos from the set.

Ricky Gervais and Emily Blunt are the newest additions to the movie, with their roles being kept a secret. Hit the jump to see who they will be joining in this movie of which I have run out of adjectives to describe; as well as the images.

Earlier this week, we brought you’re a low-resolution scan from Entertainment Weekly that provided the first look at Jason Segel and the Muppets in the tentatively-titled The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made.  We now have an updated and high-resolution version of that image.  The new image includes director James Bobin (Flight of the Conchords), co-writer Nick Stoller, and musician/actor Bret McKenzie.

Hit the jump to check out an image of Muppet mayhem.  The film, which will also star Jack Black, Donald Glover, Jane Lynch, Danny Trejo, Eric Stonestreet, John Krasinski, Ed Helms, Lady Gaga, and Paul Rudd, is set to open on December 25, 2011.

The first photo has arrived from the set of The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made. Jason Segel is starring in the film and also co-wrote the script with Forgetting Sarah Marshall director Nicholas Stoller, who also wrote and directed Get Him to the Greek. The photo, obtained by Entertainment Weekly, shows Segel and his Muppet friends in the old TV studio that they must use to put on a show together and save it from destruction by the villain Tex Richman, reportedly being played by Chris Cooper.

Also in the photo is the first look at a new Muppet, Walter, holding up an iPhone to the camera. This would continue the tradition of Jason Segel having an iPhone in almost every movie or show that he’s a part of. For the first images, the synopsis, quotes about the film, more info on Walter, and why The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made could in fact be The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made, hit the jump.

Writer Nicholas Stoller confirmed in May the early rumors that the The Greatest Muppet Ever Made had room for plenty of cameos in the script from celebrities of note.  We’re starting to see the fruit of those seeds, with Amy Adams among the first names tossed about as a candidate.  Heat Vision confirms that Adams is in negotiations to play star Jason Segel’s girlfriend,who helps him reunite the Muppets to put on a show in order to save a movie studio.  Chris Cooper is in talks to play the villain in the film, a man who somehow never found the Muppets funny and wants to buy the studio to tap the oil underneath.  Rashida Jones is likewise talking to Disney about playing an ABC executive.  Hit the jump for further details on the film.

Crew from the upcoming Muppets film were flown to Pixar headquarters on Wednesday, according to The Hollywood Reporter, to get advice on the current state of the project. This wouldn’t be the first time that the Pixar team has lent a hand to a Disney production. In fact, Brad Bird (Ratatouille) and Toy Story 3 screenwriter Michael Arndt were hired to help write reshoots for Disney’s little film called Tron: Legacy last week.

While it is unclear how extensive the help that Pixar gave the crew for The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made, it is obvious that Disney wants to make the most of the Midas touch that Pixar’s crew possess. Even if that means that every single live-action Disney film in the near future gets a look from Pixar, I think we can all agree that it should be an aid and not a hindrance. For more details on who from Pixar was likely involved and the current state of the Muppets film, hit the jump.

It seems only fitting that Jason Segel has finally signed on to star in the upcoming Muppets movie. Segel has had an extensive role in the development of the upcoming film, entitled The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made, which he penned with Forgetting Sarah Marshall director Nicholas Stoller. THR is now reporting that Segel will be starring in and producing the film as well.

Segel will join David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman of Mandeville Films/TV in producing the film, with James Bobin (writer, director and producer of HBO’s Flight of the Conchords) set to direct. The plot remains under wraps although the film’s story could have something to do with the classic Muppets coming out of retirement after a villain looks to destroy the TV studio on which The Muppet Show was once filmed. Though that news hasn’t been confirmed yet, the story is certainly intriguing enough to create a more than halfway decent Muppet film.