Zach Galifianakis in final talks to voice The Joker in The Lego Batman Movie

Everything is awesome! Zach Galifianakis is in final negotiations to become The Joker in the upcoming Lego Movie spin-off, The Lego Batman Movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The 45-year-old, best known for his role in The Hangover, will join the Warner Brothers project as the archenemy of Batman ahead of the film's February 2017 release. He will star opposite Will Arnett, who has been confirmed to be reprising his role as the Caped Crusader after his performance in the first movie. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World star Michael Cera has recently come aboard the title as Bruce Wayne's trusty sidekick, Dick Grayson aka Robin.

Whilst the exact storyline for the planned sequel-of-sorts is still very much a secret, the movie promises to cover as much of the DC Comics character's story as possible, which of course, wouldn't have been complete without Batman's most iconic villain.

Chris McKay, who acted as the animation supervisor for The Lego Movie has stepped up to direct the picture whilst the script will be penned by Dark Shadows writer Seth Grahame-Smith (who will also allegedly be conjuring up the screenplay to Beetlejuice 2 too). Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who helmed the original, are working as producers this time round and will be joined by Will Allegra, Dan Lin and Roy Lee who also worked on the first instalment.

It's not a surprise that the filmmakers behind the original are keen to make some kind of follow-up given its success back in 2014. Starring voices from huge stars including Liam Neeson, Elizabeth Banks, Jonah Hill, Morgan Freeman and Jurassic World actor Chris Pratt (and a bizarre but hilarious cameo from funny-man Will Ferrell), the film made a more-than-respectable $469m (£300m) at the box office and even earned itself an Oscar nomination for best original song.

Meanwhile, Galifianakis can next be seen in crime comedy Masterminds, opposite Kristen Wiig and Owen Wilson. He will play armoured car company night guard David Ghantt who organises one of America's most ambitious bank heists in history.