Conan viewers tonight were treated to a strange segment: No, not Dana Carvey painfully recycling the impressions he’s been doing for 20 years. Will Ferrell as Ron Burgundy came out following the monologue blasting one of his signature flute solos. After offering some helpful advice to O’Brien—which included suggesting the host get massive plastic surgery—he announced, “As of 0900 mountain time, Paramount Pictures and myself, Ronald Aaron Joseph Burgundy, have come to terms on a sequel to Anchorman. It is official: There will be a sequel to Anchorman.”
The announcement follows some buzz about tonight’s Conan, with Steve Carell tweeting this evening “Watch Conan tonight. You’ll be glad you did.”
Ferrell’s triumphant announcement—which was followed by another flute solo, of course—comes nearly two years after Anchorman director Adam McKay said it was officially not happening. Back then, with Hollywood still smarting from Land Of The Lost landing with a thud, Anchorman 2 seemed dead in the water, even under a reportedly low budget. And considering Paramount owned Ron Burgundy and all the related characters, it wasn’t like McKay and Ferrell could take them elsewhere. This was pre-Hangover 2, when everyone considered comedy sequels impossible. But we can all agree that The Hangover 2 was super awesome, so now the sky’s the limit!
There’s no word on release dates, casting, or anything else yet (though it seems like Carell is in). Expect more info to come out in the coming days. In the meantime, news team, assemble!