Merely the news that The Hangover Part III won’t have the plot format as its predecessors gives the threequel a heads-up on Part II (and The Wolfpack’s all-too-familiar shenanigans therein). Instead, Phil, Stu and Alan are hitting the road for a wild trip that includes pig-masked bandits, psychotic Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong) dressed (disguised?) as an officer of the law – and the scene of their first booze-fueled crimes, Las Vegas.

New official images from Hangover 3.0 tease The Wolfpack heading back to Sin City, as well as the (even-more) armed and dangerous Mr. Chow. Meanwhile, director Todd Phillips has spilled some additional details about the film; including, whose funeral The Wolfpack was attending in previously-released set photos.

The Wolfpack in Las Vegas in ‘The Hangover Part III’

Here’s what Phillips offered EW about the third installment:

“The Hangover Part III is Alan’s story. He’s going through a crisis after the death of his father, [and] the Wolfpack is all he has.”

Those with good memories might remember Galifianakis mentioning last year thatHangover Part III sees Alan’s buddies freeing him from a mental institution. Until further notice, it remains possible that Alan could indeed suffer a breakdown – following his father’s passing – that lands him in confinement; not to mention, sees The Wolfpack on a crazy adventure that takes them to Los Angeles, Tijuana and eventually Vegas after (to quote the EW report) “something from the first movie comes back to haunt them.”

While the Vegas image from Hangover 3 isn’t exactly enlightening (Abbey Road reference aside), the latter photo reveals a Mr. Chow who’s “darker than ever,”according to Phillips. Jeong – who likewise went fully-insane on the third season ofCommunity – will appear alongside John Goodman as a new antagonist, with returning players Mike Tyson and Heather Graham as heart-of-gold stripper Jade from the first film. (Is she what “comes back to haunt” The Wolfpack?)

Lastly, Phillips describes the movie as ‘‘a fitting end to this three-part opera of mayhem and bad decisions.” Do you agree, based on what we’ve learned so far?

The Hangover Part III opens in theaters on May 24th, 2013.

Source: EW