Arriving close to two years after "Ride Along,"  "Ride Along 2" is doing all it can to distinguish itself from its predecessor, including casting Ken Jeong. 

Variety reports that comic i Ken Jeong has climbed aboard "Ride Along 2." Details on Jeong's role are being kept under wraps by the studio. He will be joining Kevin Hart, Ice Cube, and director Tim Story. 

Variety also reports that Olivia Munn and Benjamin Bratt have been added to the cast. While both have shown comic talent in the past, they are likely to be foils poised to react to their more comedically inclined co-stars.

Ken Jeong  tried acting and stand-up as a side project while working as a physician in Los Angeles. But when Judd Apatow cast him in "Knocked Up" he exited the medical profession as Apatow brought him back for the following year's"Pineapple Express" and "Step Brothers." But it was "The Hangover" that turned him into a breakout star. As Chow, the one character who gave voice to the franchise's paranoid gay panic, he was filthy, sleazy and predatory. His role as professor Chang in NBC's, recently saved by Yahoo!, series "Community" that cemented him as a comedy staple. 

Some critics have taken issue with the relatively wet behind the ears actor getting so much attention and so many roles for essentially doing a good crazy guy. 

Jeong has also been recently cast in a yet untitled movie about a roadtrip with UN delegates to be produced by Steve Carrell and written by "Daily Show" writer David Javerbaum.

"Ride Along 2" opens January 15th, 2016.