For any other project, this switcheroo would seem quite odd, but considering it’s a follow-up to The Muppets I’m not second guessing THR‘s news that Modern Family star Ty Burrell is coming onboard the family film to replace Django Unchained‘s Christoph Waltz, who was circling the Disney project earlier this fall.

If anything, it’s promising news that Waltz will be instead heading off to work on another film (Mike Newell‘s Reykjavik, if we had to take a guess) and now Burrell will be playing the role an an Interpol inspector. A Russian femme fatale has yet to be cast and another male lead role “whose intentions are always in question” is still in the cards for the project that will be Jason Segel-less.

Co-writer Nicholas Stoller and director James Bobin of the original will be returning for the project set to kick off soon in London for a December 20th, 2013 release.

Were you looking forward to Waltz in the film? Does Burell make a worthy replacement?