WATCH: ''The Hangover III' Trailer − Justin Bartha Sidelined Again?

The Hangover Part III Director Todd Phillips has said that the final installment of his trilogy will focus on Zach Galifianakis' character, Alan. Who it won't be about, apparently — at least in terms of screen time — is Justin Bartha's character Doug. Here's what the plot looks like based on the trailer: After the death of his father, Alan goes off the rails — and his meds — engaging in the kind of outlandish behavior that, actually, he engaged in when he was on his meds. But that's not the point.  The point is that the Wolfpack joins forces one more time to take their troubled pal to a place called New Horizons that will make him all better, and..hoo boy, cue trouble in the form of menacing dudes in cute pig masks and a scary gangster-looking guy played by John Goodman.

Goodman, his character doesn't have a name in IMDb's credits, is looking for Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong) and kidnaps Doug as an incentive for Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms) and Alan to track him down.

Since the focus will inevitably turn to the remaining trio's attempts to track down Chow and save Doug, it looks like Bartha (in the foreground of the photo on the right) is going to sit out most of the movie yet again.  (I wonder how he feels about that.)

It also looks like there won't be any moment where the Wolf Pack wakes up in a bizarre setting and must piece together how they got there. The use of that plot point in both the first Hangover and Part II is one of the things that had critics and moviegoers grousing about the by-the-numbers similarity of the first two movies. Not that it affected the box office:  According to Box Office Mojo, The Hangover has grossed more than $467 million worldwide.  Part II has Hoovered in more than $581 million. If Part III can maintain that momentum, the question of whether its plot is enough of a departure from the first two movies will be moot.

The Hangover Part III:  Bartha Sidelined

More on The Hangover Part III:

WATCH: Zach Galifianakis Kills A Giraffe In 'The Hangover Part III' Teaser Trailer

Engorgio! Zach Galifianakis Appears As Portly Harry Potter In 'The Hangover Part III' Poster

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