Fans of the Will Ferrell comedy insta-classic, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, have been waiting for a sequel for a long time. Burgundy himself confirmed the sequel in grand fashion last March, and we’ve since seen a teaser poster and some ultra-teaser trailers.

To give fans something a little more solid to schedule their year around, Paramount Pictures has announced a release date for Anchorman: The Legend Continues, sharing that they’ve reserved the December 20, 2013 spot.

The gang from Adam McKay‘s Anchorman is coming back for a sequel and if Will Ferrell‘s announcement on Conan a few months back wasn’t enough, and they have shot a teaser trailer that will be attached to showings of The Dictator, it doesn’t get any more official than a teaser trailer. But the cherry on top with all this pre-production excitement is the brand new poster that has just appeared online. And if you have a news anchorman foot fetish, it’s just everything you want and more.

The new poster for the forthcoming Anchorman sequel confirms that the film will forgo the number in the title and have The Legend Continues in the subtitle. Other than that, the new poster looks like a cool way to sell some shoes. Check it out here below.

I remember when I first saw Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy — it was on the big screen opening dayin 2004, and as I fondly recall I laughed my ass off many times during that first viewing and then some. Then when the movie was released on DVD I bought it and began to watch it repeatedly. Soon Anchorman became one of my top five favorite comedies. It has become a signature movie in my life, a wonderful comedy loaded with memorable characters, hilarious gags, classic comedic set-pieces, and terrific dialogue that my friends and I never tire of quoting to each other. The movie was so great in fact that I seriously desired for a sequel to be made. That doesn’t usually happen much with comedies I love.

Action, science-fiction, and horror films easily lend themselves to being franchised, but franchising comedy is a much difficult prospect. But the principal cast and crew of Anchorman saw what a hilarious and special film they had made and sought for years to make a sequel, not out of the mercenary pursuit of greater wealth and exposure but out of the love they had for the characters and the world they created. It was just that the studio was adamant against making it for reasons that sound utterly ridiculous when you say them out loud. The project’s future seemed so questionable that the original film’s star was considering it dead in the water as recently as a few weeks again.

Then a funny thing happened just a few days ago….

Earlier this week, we brought you the news that comedy superstar Will Ferrell made a surprise appearance on the late night talk show Conan as the character Ron Burgundy, the egotistical news anchor with a heart of gold and a brain of vanilla pudding he played in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. His appearance was to wow the audience with a jazz flute jam and to make the special announcement that a deal had been worked out with Paramount Pictures for a sequel to the 2004 hit comedy to finally move forward.

Funny or Die, the website Ferrell co-created with friend and frequent collaborator (and co-writer and director of Anchorman) Adam McKay, has posted a video chronicling the moments before and after Ferrell’s Conan appearance. You can check it out here below.

It’s been rumored off and on for many years now, but fans of the hit 2004 comedy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy can finally celebrate: Anchorman 2 is officially happening.

Star Will Ferrell made the announcement in full character on tonight’s episode of Conan, which can be seen in a video below.