The cast for Anchorman: The Legend Continues – or Anchorman 2 if you prefer numbered sequel titles instead of surnames – just keeps getting better and crazier. Original stars Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner, and Christina Applegate have all long been confirmed to reprise their roles as the Channel 4 News Team with original director Adam McKay once again calling the shots and writing the script. The cast has also recently added names like John C. Reilly, Kristen Wiig, James Mardsen, Meagan Good, and Dylan Baker, most of whom’s roles have yet to be revealed.

And now the biggest Anchorman 2-related casting news has dropped as it was announced today that none other than Harrison Ford has signed on to co-star in the eagerly-anticipated comedy sequel. Ford would be playing the role of a legendary newscaster in the mold of Tom Brokaw who is admired by Ferrell’s clueless but charismatic anchorman Ron Burgundy. The silver screen icon best known for playing larger-than-life action heroes like Han Solo in Star Wars and the title character in the Indiana Jones film series also played a newscaster in the 2010 romantic comedy Morning Glory.

Plot details for Anchorman 2 are still being kept heavily under wraps, but the story is rumored to involve Burgundy and San Diego’s number one television news team leaving behind their local news comfort zone for the still-young world of cable TV news, but don’t quote me on that. Things can always change and McKay and Ferrell’s collaborations tend to involve a lot of improvisation and plot changes, as anyone who owns both the released version of the original Anchorman as well as its “sequel” supplement that was cobbled together out of unused outtakes from the first version called Wake Up Ron Burgundy can attest.

Harrison Ford rarely goes for full-on comedies though he has never shied from playing characters with a strong sense of humor in the past. I’m interested in seeing if he’ll be able to adapt to the free-for-all creative lunacy of a McKay/Ferrell production or just stick to the script and play it cool and controlled. In any case, the first Anchorman remains one of my favorite comedies of all time and the news surrounding this sequel gets me more excited about it every day. It’s great to have the old gang back in what I hope will be one of the better comedy sequels ever made because such a thing is possible and these folks know just how to do it.

Anchorman: The Legend Continues is scheduled to go into production soon with a release set for December 20, 2013. Get cracking people and give this humble Ron Burgundy fan a Christmas to remember.

[Source: THR | Image of Harrison Ford courtesy of Shutterstock]