The hirsute director of mockumentaries and whatever Sacha Baron Cohen dreams up has signed on to direct the film of Bill Bryson’s middle-aged men hiking the Appalachian Trail comedy.

Since Robert Redford, who was excited to be doing a comedy “after all these years” when I spoke with him back in October, and Nick Nolte have been cast in it, it’s no longer a middle-aged men story. Kind of surprised Redford isn’t directing it, but maybe this was the plan all along — to have a comedy specialist come on board and find the funny.