After two decades since the original Chicken Run, its sequel now has an official Netflix release date. Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, will premiere later this year with a host of big names voicing an array of clucking creatures.
Chicken Run (2000) remains the most successful stop-motion film ever, earning a whopping $224,834,564 worldwide at the box office. The new film's synopsis reads: "Having pulled off a death-defying escape from Tweedy's Farm, Ginger has finally found her dream – a peaceful island sanctuary for the whole flock, far from the dangers of the human world.
"When she and Rocky hatch a little girl called Molly, Ginger's happy ending seems complete. But back on the mainland the whole of chicken-kind faces a new and terrible threat."
It adds: "For Ginger and her team, even if it means putting their own hard-won freedom at risk – this time, they're breaking in!"
When Chicken Run 2 will be released
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget has a launch date of December 15, 2023 after it was announced at Annecy International Animation Festival, with attendees also shown a sneak peek of the stop-motion sequel. The film will start where the last instalment finished off, after Ginger and her team successfully pulled off an escape from Tweedy's farm.
The original Chicken Run writers Karey Kirkpatrick and John O'Farrell have written the coming sequel, while stop-motion legends Peter Lord and David Sproxton are back as executive producers. Co-produced by Aardman Animations, the studio is responsible for some of the biggest stop-motion films ever, including the first Chicken Run, two Shaun the Sheep movies, Flushed Away and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
Chicken Run 2 cast
The film will be shown exclusively on Netflix, but original cast members Mel Gibson (Rocky) and Julia Sawalha (Ginger) will not return to their roles. A full cast list has been confirmed and features an array of familiar voices:
- Thandiwe Newton as Ginger
- Zachary Levi as Rocky Rhodes
- Bella Ramsey as Molly
- Romesh Ranganathan as Nick
- Daniel Mays as Fetcher
- David Bradley as Fowler
- Jane Horrocks as Babs
- Imelda Staunton as Bunty
- Lynn Ferguson as Mac
- Josie Sedgwick-Davies as Frizzle
- Nick Mohammed as Dr. Fry