Russell signs up to Sarah Marshall sequel

The comic confirmed that he had agreed to the follow-up, saying: ‘I’ll be playing Aldous Snow again, back on drugs, all mental.’

Co-stars Kristen Bell and Jason Segel, who wrote the original, have reportedly been approached about the Universal Studios film, but none has yet confirmed their involvement.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall director Nicholas Stoller is currently working on another film in which Brand plays an out-of-control rock star, Get Me To The Greek. In this film, Jonah Hill plays a wet-behind-the-ears insurance adjuster instructed to ensure Brand’s wildman gets to a gig.

Brand’s comments came in an interview with Radio 1’s Newsbeat in which he also said he couldn’t rule out making more hoax calls, despite the storm of controversy his call to Northampton police caused.

The comic said he was ‘surprised’ by the reaction to his on-stage stunt, in which he called a witness line claiming to have seen a sex attacker who had been targeting women in the town.

But although he apologised for the call, he today said he could repeat such a ‘spontaneous’ act in a future show.

Brand told Radio 1’s Newsbeat: ‘ I think it’s clear that I would never seek to glean laughter from people that have been in any way victimised or shoddily treated. I was surprised by some of the moralising.

Asked if he would do it again, he said: ‘Who knows, possibly. You can never rule that out, that’s the nature of spontaneity, things just sometimes happen.’

The 33-year-old, who is performing at a charity gig in aid of the drug rehab group Focus 12 tonight, complained about the newspaper backlash to his call during his recent visit to Montreal’s Just For Laughs festival, claiming the reports treated him as badly as if he had been the attacker himself.

Published: 28 Jul 2008