Late last year, Disney finally set a release date for the upcoming sequel to Tim Burton’s insanely successful Alice in Wonderland, aiming for the Memorial Day weekend of 2016. The original movie grossed over $1 billion worldwide in 2010, although this was back when 3D movies were still hot and Avatar was fresh in our minds. Tim Burton won’t be returning to direct the sequel; instead James Bobin will take the reins as soon as he finishes up work on another sequel: the upcoming Muppets Most Wanted. Johnny Depp and Mia Wasikowska will both reprise their roles and now they are in the process of adding their first new cast member to the film. It just so happens it is someone that Johnny Depp has worked with before in Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd: Sacha Baron Cohen. Hit the jump for more details.

According to Variety, Sacha Baron Cohen is currently in talks to join Disney’s Alice in Wonderland sequel, which is now apparently titled Through the Looking Glass. His character is not yet known but it is believed that he will be playing the primary villain. The plot is also being kept under wraps, and although the title implies that it will be based directly on Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass, the original film already included elements from this book as well.

It won’t be the first time Sacha Baron Cohen has played a villain in a family-friendly adventure, as he previously played the Station Inspector in Martin Scorsese’s Hugo. Either way, his comedic sensibility should serve him well in a surreal world like this and I am curious to see what comes of it. Cohen will also star in the upcoming spy comedy Grimsby with Louis Leterrier directing. Are you looking forward to an Alice in Wonderland sequel?