Machete and Officer Jim Dangle Join The New HAROLD & KUMAR Movie (In 3D!?!?)

Merrick here...
The mighty Danny Trejo and the inimitable Thomas Lennon have been cast in the forthcoming HAROLD & KUMAR movie, which is gonna be shot in 3D (may work well for an extended claymation sequence said to be featured in the film, but...the whole thing?) Here's the Warner Bros. press release announcing their involvement, as well as other cast members who'll be appearing. We'd previously heard the plot line would revolve around an estranged Harold and Kumar being thrown back together on an adventure that would find them searching for a Christmas tree on December 24 - the synop[sis goes into a bit more detail (including specifying the picture's New York setting).

Mandate Pictures And New Line Begin Production On The Third “Harold & Kumar” Comedy (July 07, 2010 – Burbank, CA) – The ensemble cast has been set for Mandate Pictures’ and New Line Cinema’s third installment of the “Harold & Kumar” film franchise, which began with the 2004 cult hit “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.” John Cho (“Star Trek,” TV’s “Flash Forward”) and Kal Penn (“Superman Returns,” TV’s “House”) reprise their title roles in the holiday-themed comedy, which recently began principal photography on location in Michigan. The first of the “Harold & Kumar” comedies to be shot in 3-D, the film is being directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson, marking his major feature film directorial debut. Academy Award®-winning producer Greg Shapiro (“The Hurt Locker”) and Mandate president Nathan Kahane return as producers. The screenplay is by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, who wrote the previous two movies and directed the second, “Harold and Kumar Escape from Guatanamo Bay.” They are also serving as co-producers, together with Nicole Brown, who is overseeing the project on behalf of Mandate. It would not be a “Harold & Kumar” film without Neil Patrick Harris, who reunites with Cho and Penn in the cast. Returning “Harold & Kumar” cast members also include Paula Garcés (TV’s “The Shield”) as Maria; Danneel Harris (TV’s “One Tree Hill”) as Vanessa; Bobby Lee (“Pineapple Express”) as Kenneth Park; and Eddie Kaye Thomas (“American Pie,” HBO’s “How to Make It in America”) as Rosenberg. Joining the “Harold & Kumar” ensemble are Tom Lennon (“17 Again,” TV’s “Reno 911”) and Danny Trejo (“Grindhouse”). Rounding out the new film cast are Amir Blumenfeld (TV’s “Pranked,” CollegeHumor.com), David Burtka (TV’s “How I Met Your Mother”), Fred Melamed (“A Serious Man”), Patton Oswalt (“The Informant!”) and Richard Riehle (“Halloween II”). Harold and Kumar were introduced in the first film of the series, “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle,” which follows two post-college friends on their search for the best pot and snacks that suburban New Jersey has to offer. The second film, “Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay,” found them being mistaken for terrorists and having to clear their names—with the help of old friend Neil Patrick Harris. The new “Harold & Kumar” comedy picks up six years after the duo’s last adventure. After years of growing apart, Harold Lee (John Cho) and Kumar Patel (Kal Penn) have replaced each other with new best friends and are preparing for their respective Christmas celebrations. But when a mysterious package arrives at Kumar’s door, his attempt to deliver it to Harold’s house ends with him inadvertently burning down Harold’s father-in-law’s prize Christmas tree. With his in-laws out of the house for less than a day, Harold decides to cover his tracks rather than come clean, and reluctantly embarks on another ill-advised but hilarious journey with Kumar, taking them through New York City on Christmas Eve in search of the perfect Christmas tree. Collaborating with Todd Strauss-Schulson behind the scenes are: director of photography Michael Barrett (“You Don’t Mess with the Zohan,” “Bedtime Stories”); production designer Rusty Smith (the “Austin Powers” movies, “Elf”), editor Eric Kissack (“Brüno,” “Role Models”), and costume designer Mary Claire Hannan (“Into the Wild”). The film is a production of Mandate Pictures and New Line Cinema and will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

You may recall that, in the second film, Neil Patrick Harris was gunned down by vengeful whores after attempting to brand one of their coworkers.... ...leading many people to question how he'd be back for a third installment. While that answer still isn't entirely clear (and should probably never be made clear), many folks don't seem to remember that ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY included a tag featuring NPH's mysterious resurrection... A VERY HAROLD AND KUMAR CHRISTMAS should be in theaters sometime next year.
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