Previously, on the Arrested Development Film Tracker: Jessica Walter and Tony Hale threw in, while creator Mitchell Hurwitz elliptically blamed a foot-dragging Michael Cera for the holdup. Now, new news!

First, Will Arnett reconfirmed his involvement with the film, which was under some scrutiny after Hale mentioned that cast members' new children might present some scheduling conflicts (Arnett just had a baby with Amy Poehler, as was mandated by a Jennifer Hudson-obsessed Creator).

"Arrested Development has such a special place in my heart,” he tells EW.com, “and I can't wait to strap that fake hand back on and fight the seal once and for all—wait, which guy did I play?...It’ll be fun to get back together with everybody and work on it. It’s been so long now, we almost have to do it. It’s like we have to finish the joke.” What details can he spill about the project? “I’m sure I’m not speaking out of turn when I say Christmas Day ’09, 12:01 a.m. is the first show,” he shares. “We’re opening on—this is unprecedented—13,000 screens. This is going to be mind-blowing. We start shooting this summer. It’s going to be directed by Obama’s Secretary of the Treasury, I’m not sure how [series creator] Mitch Hurwitz feels about that."

Also, thanks to commenter bronx51, who pointed out that Alia Shawkat did in fact confirm her AD involvement to a long-ago, pre-zombified Radar (ironically, the news flew under ours). And what an eerily prescient interview it was!

I got a call from Mitchell Hurwitz, the creator, and he said "so have you heard about this movie we're supposedly doing?" and I said yes. And he said he was in and it was great. And Jason [Bateman], when he was doing all the Juno press, he basically just talked up [Arrested Development] the movie. He got the publicity going before anything was real. So Mitch talked to Ron Howard, who said he would direct it, and he's down. So I think Mitch was like, "I guess I'll write it then," and that's what I think he's doing now. And yes, I'm involved. I think everyone is.

[...]

Who do you see most often from the cast?
 Sadly, I don't see everyone that often. I see Michael Cera every now and again, but he's famous now so he doesn't want to talk to me.

Cera, you're making a huge mistake. What will it take before you reconsider? Gross points? Henry Winkler's participation? A lifetime supply of American Apparel hoodies?