And now, Han Solo with the news. Yes, that's Han/Indiana Jones/Harrison Ford, joining star Will Ferrell on the set of "Anchorman: The Legend Continues," the long-awaited sequel to the 2004 comedy "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy."

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Will Ferrell and Harrison Ford are seen on the set of "Anchorman: The Legend Continues."

Ford is reportedly playing a legendary newsman who's being compared to Tom Brokaw. But since the "Anchorman" series will do anything for a laugh, his role will surely be given a twist.  The actor reportedly arrived on set with a full head of grey hair, but had it dyed dark before heading out at Ferrell's side. He's no scruffy-looking Nerf-herder here.

Ford's addition has some movie fans excited. "My, my, the prospect of this is miles more thrilling than his reprisal of Han Solo," wrote Nick Newman at The Film Stage. 

Wrote Geoff LaTulippe on Twitter, "Harrison Ford is in ANCHORMAN II. I don't even know how to handle the joy of the world anymore."

Ford's sat behind a fake news desk before -- he won praise for his role as an anchorman in the 2010 comedy "Morning Glory."

"Anchorman: The Legend Continues" opens Dec. 20. Joining Ferrell and Ford are stars Steve Carrell, Paul Rudd, Kristen Wiig, James Marsden and David Koechner.

Will you see "Anchorman: The Legend Continues"? Tell us on Facebook.

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Stay classy, "Anchorman" fans. Ron Burgundy and the entire cast from 2004's "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" will return to theaters with a sequel one year from now, opening Dec. 20, 2013.

Star Will Ferrell confirmed the sequel back in March on "Conan," while decked out in his red anchorman's jacket. And this week, producer Judd Apatow and director Adam McKay tweeted the exact date.

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Will Ferrell as Ron Burgundy.

"It is kind of a big deal," tweeted Apatow, quoting the first film.

Ferrell will return as Burgundy, with Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, Christina Applegate and Vince Vaughn also expected to return.

"Hey America, did you miss my hot breath in your ear?" Ferrell's Burgundy says in a trailer for the new film.

"In this movie, we play witches," Carell's Brick announces.

"Brick, what could you possibly be describing?" asks Ferrell. 

The new film is called "Anchorman: The Legend Continues."

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Will Ferrell is prepared to do whatever it takes to convince you to head to your nearest polling station on Tuesday, Nov. 6.

In a new video message for President Barack Obama's re-election campaign, the "Saturday Night Live" alum details all the ways in which he'll pay back anyone who agrees to exercise his or her civic duty on Election Day.

PHOTOS: See Will's prom photo!

Looking extra-suave in a burgundy tuxedo jacket, a mustachioed Ferrell says he'll cook you "a home-cooked meal" ("I hope you like angel hair pasta!"), give you a tattoo, or treat you to a private showing of his signature choreography.

"That was just a taste," the comedian says after giving viewers a sampling of his fly dance moves. "If you want the full buffet, you're going to have to vote."

PHOTOS: Will Ferrell smooches Sacha Baron Cohen

Check out the entire hilarious PSA below:

Patti Perret / Warner Bros. Pictures

Zach Galifianakis as Marty Huggins and Will Ferrell as Cam Brady in "The Campaign."

REVIEW: Call it "Meet the Candidates." Considering he struck comedy gold with "Meet the Parents"/"Meet the Fockers" before successfully entering the cable political arena with "Recount" and "Game Change," director Jay Roach would seem to have been the ideal guy to be steering "The Campaign."

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But while leads Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis are amusingly on point as a pair of mud-slinging contenders for Congress, the platform is a wobbly political satire that flip-flops chaotically between clever and crass, never finding a sturdy comedic footing.

With its election-year timing and the scarcity of R-rated fare that at least looks like it should be fun, the Warner Bros. release might encounter some initial traction, but, clocking in at a tellingly insubstantial 85 minutes, it likely will see sharply falling approval ratings.

Ferrell’s Cam Brady is a slick, incumbent Republican congressman who’s fully expecting the upcoming election to be yet another cakewalk, given that he’s running unopposed.

But when Brady dials a wrong number, leaving a crude message meant for his mistress, a pair of corrupt power brokers called the Motch brothers (John Lithgow and Dan Aykroyd) see an opportunity in the widely exposed gaffe.

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Looking to get the necessary tax-exempt backing for their insourcing scheme -- importing cheap Chinese labor to work in their North Carolina factories -- they find a patsy in the form of naive tourism center director Marty Huggins (Galifianakis) to run against Brady on a family values manifesto.

Taken under the wing of Tim Wattley (Dylan McDermott), a highly disciplined, black op of a campaign manager, Huggins is transformed from fey family black sheep to tough-talking, viable opponent, setting the stage for a no-holds-barred, mean-spirited race.

On paper, given the players and the potent milieu, "The Campaign" should have been a slam dunk.

Unfortunately, to borrow Huggins’ campaign slogan, “It’s a mess!”

The script, by Chris Henchy ("The Other Guys") and Shawn Harwell, from a story also contributed by longtime Ferrell collaborator Adam McKay, is lazily hit-and-miss, neither sufficiently sharp nor substantial to bring anything fresh or consistently entertaining to the political satire genre.

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While it probably would have made a terrific series of Funny or Die shorts, the film comes up notably short as a feature proposition with an abrupt ending that smacks of last-minute cutting.

And though Ferrell and Galifianakis make for lively opponents, it’s not like we haven’t seen them play these guys before.

Will’s Cam has more than a bit of the smugness of his famed George W. Bush impersonation (with a smarmy John Edwards-type overlay), while Zach’s Marty is a very slight variation on his twin brother Seth Galifianakis character he often has portrayed in short segments and onstage.

Providing reliable if under-utilized support are Sarah Baker as Huggins’ sweet, shoved-to-the-sidelines wife, Mitzi, and Jason Sudeikis as Brady’s long-suffering campaign manager.

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Cody Delistraty

Will Ferrell randomly rearranges coffee cups as Zach Galifianakis talks to a barista at the Local Color coffeehouse in Seattle.

Sitting down at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seattle, Wash., Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis wiped their brows and sunk into their chairs. Their promotional tour for “The Campaign,” a satire of the political campaign process, has been a tiring whirlwind. Their Thursday engagement at Seattle’s Local Color coffeehouse near Pike Place Market was, to put it lightly, an overwhelming experience for the duo.

“I can’t even speak about what just happened,” said Ferrell, shaking his head. “It was crazy.”

Their 11-city public relations tour has led them to throwing the first pitch at a Chicago Cubs game, speaking at the Naval Air Station in Fort Worth, Texas, and handing a giant cup of coffee to smiling, camera-ready supporters in Seattle. They still have a few cities left, but the PR campaign has so far successfully done double duty by poking fun at the photo-op culture of politics while promoting their upcoming film. However, the crowds and craziness wherever they go has begun to take its toll.

“It’s obviously extremely nice and flattering, but then we felt guilty that we were just whisked into a coffee place and really only made contact with maybe 25 people,” Ferrell lamented. “It’s almost like you want to take a full-page ad in the newspaper tomorrow saying, 'Sorry.' ” He paused. “I won’t actually follow through with that.”

Their guilt aside, the tour is still worth it for them, if only to elucidate the banality and emptiness of real–life Congressional campaigning.

“When the approval rating of Congress is below 10 percent (editor’s note: it’s nearer to 17% on average), like nine out of 10 people don’t think Congress is doing a good job, that gives you the impression that they just have these cushy jobs and just care about staying in office and not really doing any work,” said Ferrell.

“I’d love to know who those 10 percent are,” Galifianakis quipped. “Like, ‘They’re trying hard.’ And they still think it’s the 1960s or something, probably.”

While Ferrell and Galifianakis feel strongly about the ridiculousness of much of American politics, “The Campaign” wasn’t their first idea for a movie together.

“The beginning of it was Will and I went to lunch and were trying to figure out like what could we do together,” said Galifianakis.

“At first it was centered around the boy pageant circuit,” Ferrell said, cracking a grin. “It doesn’t even make sense. Two Southern guys …”

Galifianakis interrupted, laughing. “... on the boy pageant circuit.”

“We’d figure out the rest,” said Ferrell.

Their PR tour parodying PR tours will continue until "The Campaign" is released on Aug. 10.

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Happy birthday, Ron Burgundy -- er, Will Ferrell.

"Saturday Night Live" has launched several hilarious comics into Hollywood movies, and one of the most successful in recent years is Will Ferrell, who turns 45 today.

Ferrell's "SNL" characters are many and beloved. (We listed our top 5 here.) Who can forget his classic portrayal of fictional Blue Oyster Cult cowbell player Gene Frenkle? Spirited Spartans cheerleader Craig Buchanan? Real-life famous people like George W. Bush, Alex Trebek and Neil Diamond?

But his movie characters are often iconic too. Anchorman Ron Burgundy kept San Diego classy -- and now he's coming back.  Frank the Tank went back to "Old School." Ricky Bobby lit up those "Talladega Nights." Buddy the Elf saved Christmas. You get the idea.

Not every Ferrell film or character is for everyone, but if you've never laughed at a Ferrell line ("GET OFF THE SHED!"), you may need to invest a few nights in getting caught up. ("Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I don't know, I don't know if we'll have enough time.")

Happy birthday, Will Ferrell!

What's your favorite Will Ferrell role? Tell us on Facebook.

Slideshow: Will Ferrell’s wonderful world

John Estes / AP

Launch slideshow

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Paramount Pictures

Will Ferrell as "Anchorman" Ron Burgundy.

Ron Burgundy said so himself -- the first teaser for “Anchorman 2” will be revealed Tuesday at midnight showings of Sacha Baron Cohen's new film, “The Dictator.”

“Dont get Twirter,” tweeted Will Ferrell's fictional newscaster on Monday. ““Anchorman 2” teaser with Dictator [tomorrow] night. Don’t know what a teaser is. World is crazy? Having a scotch.”

According to the Chicago Tribune, that confirmation came after a few excited fans leaked the news, which Paramount then confirmed. Teasers are usually much shorter than full trailers and sometimes include footage not seen in the film -- which makes sense in the case of "Anchorman 2," since the film won't be released until 2014, 10 years after the original.

The film may be two years off, but fans are excited about the sneak peek.

Tweeted movie blogger Nine Daves, ‏”A reason to see #thedictator! the #anchorman2 teaser will run during previews. it's kind of a big deal. people know it.”

 ‏”Is it bad that I'm considering paying for The Dictator just to see the teaser for Anchorman 2?” wrote Kassie Smith.

The follow-up to the much-quoted 2004 flick comes as a result of fan-fueled demand, co-writer and director Adam McKay told Salon in April. And he feels it fits the times.

“'Anchorman' is a movie that certainly fit the time when it came out and every year it gets more and more relevant,” McKay said. “Part of what inspired the movie was just how ridiculous the news had become. It was all ratings-driven. The people were getting better and better looking. The weather women were getting outrageously beautiful. It was all about the voice and the hair. Since we made the movie it’s gone even more so in that direction. We talk about all these anchormen on the air now and they’re all kind of Ron Burgundy-esque guys.”

The director wouldn't give away too much, but did drop a few hints about the plot.

“I’ll say one phrase for you: custody battle. I’ll give you that. I’ll give you one other one: bowling for dollars,” he said.

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Will Ferrell as Ron Burgundy in "Anchorman."

Will Ferrell donned his Ron Burgundy persona on Wednesday night, hitting the set of “Conan” to reveal an “Anchorman” sequel is on the way.

Playing a flute and dressed in his classic cardinal “Anchorman” jacket, Will walked on stage to loud cheers from the studio audience, before revealing the news.

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“I want to announce this to everyone here in the Americas, to my friends in Spain, Turkey and the UK, including England, that as of 0900 Mountain time, Paramount Pictures and myself, Ronald Joseph Burgundy, have come to terms on a sequel to ‘Anchor Man,’” he said.

“It is official,” Will – as Ron – added, “There will be a sequel to ‘Anchorman.’ There will be a sequel!”

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But he also offered a bit of advice to Conan.

“I’ve got one small criticism, and it’s probably something only a professional like me would notice, but Conan, you look awful,” he said, adding, “Just go under the knife.”

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Twitter has some incredible benefits, as Jimmy Kimmel of "Late Night with Jimmy Kimmel," noted in a monologue earlier this week -- namely that fans can usually get directly in touch with their idols.

Alas, he pointed out, so can the haters. But that won't stop him from mining some comedy out of those negative tweets, so in honor of Twitter's 6th birthday, he assembled several famous Twitter users to read aloud some of the worst tweets that have ever fluttered into their lives.

Comedy gold ensues, of a somewhat foul-mouthed variety -- on both the part of the celebrity, and the "fan."

(Warning: Vulgar language is featured, and sometimes bleeped, in the clip.)

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REVIEW: There has to be a comic point to it all, right? Will Ferrell wouldn't just decide to learn Spanish to make an English-subtitled telenovela spoof on a whim. Surely it must all come together in an entertaining and hilarious story?

Not exactly. "Casa de mi Padre" is a confusing spoof of different film genres mixed in with one-note characters who all lack Ferrell's natural goofy charm. 

Ferrell stars as Armando, the lesser son of a Mexican rancher, who must save the day when his brother Raul (Diego Luna) gets the family mixed up with a drug lord (Gael Garcia Bernal). He carefully pronounces his Spanish dialogue as if he's an honors student making a student film, but in either language, there's no real sense that he has a plan here.

The jokes feel random -- a broad spoof of a telenovela stereotype here, a bloody "Kill Bill" style shootout there, a discomforting, unfunny joke about the death of Armando and Raul's mother. A roomful of sexy maids in tiny uniforms serve the men of the family, but there doesn't seem to be a joke there either, they're just a weird bit of eye candy. Ferrell wants to play his one big sex scene (with beauty Genesis Rodriguez) for laughs, adding in endless shots of naked butt-groping and substituting a mannequin for one of the partners as things heat up. But those twists feel like they were just chosen out of a comedian's handbook, not flowing naturally from some Guffman-esque universe.

Audiences who keep trusting Ferrell to get them to the point will be disappointed, as the film is neither raucously funny or quietly sly. "Casa de mi Padre" wants the audience to feel that they're in on the joke, with blatantly fake backdrops, an animatronic big cat, and one scene where an apology for not creating a better fight scene scrolls down the screen. But the strands never tie up.

If this were a "Saturday Night Live" sketch, it might have played out in two funny minutes, but the film goes on for 86. Ferrell can do so much better.

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Will Ferrell is going Old School all right.

The funnyman, who played Frank the Tank in the 2003 comedy, is such a fan of Old Milwaukee beer that he's now starring -- for free mind you -- in a series of commercials for the classic American lager that have since gone viral.

So how'd they turn out?

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Per beer blog Kegworks.com, an enthusiastic Ferrell pitched the Pabst Brewing Company the idea of appearing in the spots without being paid on the condition it airs locally.

In the ad above, the comic actor is getting all folksie on us (though not quite as folksie as his Dubya impersonation), lampooning his status as a Hollywood celebrity while fishing in the Ole Miss and drinking a can of his favorite brew.

A second spot finds Ferrell doing a little "hand fishing" in the Mississippi River near Davenport, Iowa, when instead of catfish he ends up snagging "this little piece of America," a cool can of Old Milwaukee.

And last but not least, a frenetic Ferrell explains how Davenport's an "Old Milwaukee kind of town" by way of an acronym ("'D' stands for drinkability; 'A' is for "Amber," the color of the beer," etc.) that assures viewers the taste is indeed as good as its name.

Perhaps Will, a remake of "Strange Brew" is in order?

GALLERY: While we're at it, here's another kind of six-pack