20 years ago to the day, the highest-grossing stop-motion animated film of all time arrived. Chicken Run went on to earn a Best Animated Picture nomination and obtain somewhat of a cult following over the past two decades. As first reported by Variety, a sequel to Chicken Run is officially in development and will stream exclusively on Netflix.
The original film was helmed by clay-animation legends Peter Lord and Nick Park with a screenplay penned by Karey Kirkpatrick (James and the Giant Peach). However, the upcoming sequel will be directed by Oscar-nominated Paranorman filmmaker Sam Fell. Aardman Animation Studios will handle production with Netflix on-board to distribute. The voice cast is yet to be revealed, however, The Wrap reports that Mel Gibson will not reprise his role as Rocky in the sequel.
Additionally, the plot will reportedly feature Molly, the child of the original’s main characters Ginger and Rocky. However, Molly begins to outgrow her home just as a new threat to the chicken’s haven arrives. This forces Ginger to rally her troops and put their own freedom at risk for the good of all “chicken-kind.”
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Production will begin sometime in 2021 with Rachel Tunnard (Military Wives), Karey Kirkpatrick, and John O’Farrell on script-writing duty. The aforementioned Peter Lord expressed his excitement for the upcoming feature in a statement to Variety.
“We’ve discussed it so many times over the years and come up with various ideas but never quite found one we loved enough. We’ve got the perfect story. And the relationship with Netflix is kind of perfect as well because they celebrate the filmmaker and are so filmmaker friendly,” he said. “I feel now we can make the Chicken Run sequel we want to, the one we really care about.”
The original picture focuses on a band of chickens led by Rocky, their only hope to escape the farm when their owners prepare to turn them into chicken pies. The film grossed over $224 million worldwide.
What do you think? Are you looking forward to Chicken Run 2? Let us know in the comments below!
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