Neil Patrick Harris is going to star in Smurfs: The Movie. Now before you get all excited about Barney Stinson voicing Papa Smurf or romancing Smurfette, relax-- he'll be playing the lead human character in the live-action/animation hybrid movie, which starts shooting this April. Though I can't promise that means he won't be walking around set in a puffy white hat anyway.

The news comes from Deadline Hollywood, where they add that Harris will complete the filming during his hiatus from How I Met Your Mother. We've been hearing rumors of delays and production problems on director Raja Gosnell's set-- we showed you a first look at character development for the movie two years ago, after all-- but it's hard to imagine a better omen than snagging man of the moment NPH. No, it doesn't guarantee the movie will be any good-- we all hated Alvin and the Chipmunks despite the presence of David Cross-- but it'll at least bring in the devoted theater queens and HIMYM fans desperate for their next NPH fix.