While The Hangover 2 was announced even before the first film hit theaters, it has taken a lot of finessing to get the original cast back together again. Deadline Hollywood announced today that the film's core trio of Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, and Bradley Cooper have now all official signed on to return to the hit Warner Bros. franchise.

The negotiations took six months, and each actor is reportedly making $5 million apiece against 4% of the first dollar gross the film incurs. Director Todd Phillips will also be returning, and will be paid $10 million for his troubles. It was noted that the deal to get all three stars back in place took so long because all three actors combined made less than $1 million collectively on the first film. And they did not have options locking them into a sequel. The actors' combined team of managers, agents, and attorneys negotiated together to insure that a sequel did not go forth unless all three stars were paid well this time around.

At this time, the script for The Hangover 2 is still being polished, and filming is being planned for October if Ed Helms can work it into his shooting schedule for The Office. The Hangover 2 is planning a 2011 Memorial Day weekend release date.