After years of Chicken Run fans wondering whether the stop-motion classic would ever be back for a sequel, Netflix finally answered last summer with a resounding “yes,” but was tight-lipped about key details like who all might be coming back to reprise their roles and who might not.
Though we’re still a ways out from director Sam Fell’s Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget’ premiere, Netflix has just shared a cache of new information about the sequel along with our first look (sort of) at the movie’s central hero. Set some time after the first film, Dawn of the Nugget finds Ginger (Thandiwe Newton) and Rocky (Zachary Levi) settling into new lives on an idyllic island completely devoid of humans where they feel safe enough to finally start a family. Though the chickens are delighted by the birth of the daughter Molly (Bella Ramsey), the young chick’s wanderlust soon puts her at odds with her parents after her curiosity about the mainland is piqued by rumors about the dangerous things that happen there.
Though Newton, Ramsey, and Levi are all newcomers to the Chicken Run franchise, they’ll be joined by Jane Horrocks, Imelda Staunton, and Lynn Ferguson, who voiced the chickens Babs, Hunty, and Mac, respectively, in the first film. Rounding out the cast are Josie Sedgwick-Davies as Edie, David Bradley as Fowler, Romesh Ranganathan as Nick, Daniel Mays as Fletcher, and Nick Mohammed as Dr. Fry.
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Along with the Chicken Run news, Netflix also announced that it’s moving forward with another Wallace & Gromit feature co-directed by Wallace & Gromit creator Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham. A press release about the currently unnamed Wallace & Gromit movie describes its story as focusing on what happens when Wallace’s latest invention — a “smart gnome” — seems to gain sentience and begin wreaking havoc upon its creator’s and Gromit’s quiet lives.
While there are currently no details on when to expect the next Wallace & Gromit feature, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is slated to hit Netflix in 2023.
