The first teaser for Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget has been unveiled by Netflix, serving as the eagerly awaited follow-up to Aardman Animation’s iconic stop-motion film. This sequel is set to premiere on December 15th 2023 – a full 23 years after the original movie’s debut.
Featuring the return of Ginger and Rocky along with a host of familiar and new faces, the official synopsis for Chicken Run 2 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. For Ginger and her team, even if it means putting their own hard-won freedom at risk – this time, they’re breaking in!”
Original voice actors Julia Sawalha and Mel Gibson have stepped aside to usher in Thandie Newton and Zachary Levi as the new voices for Ginger and Rocky; however, fans can expect to see Miranda Richardson return as their diabolical farming nemesis, Mrs Tweedy.
Also joining the cast is Imelda Staunton, reprising her role as Bunty, as well as the new voices of acclaimed British comedians Peter Serafinowitz, Romesh Ranganathan and Daniel Mays, as well as The Last of Us and Game of Thrones star Bella Ramsey.
In an official statement about the sequel, director Sam Fell said, “They say a movie is only as good as its villain and Ginger’s nemesis, Mrs Tweedy, is one of the all-time greats. Now she’s out to take industrial-scale revenge on all chicken-kind with the Dawn of the Nugget. We’ve had so much fun working with Miranda Richardson to transform Melisha Tweedy into the ultimate 1960s super-villain.”
Before its December release on Netflix, Dawn of the Nugget will premiere at the London Film Festival. The original film, released in 2000, was directed by Aardman staples Peter Lord and Nick Park. It was an immediate smash hit both in the UK and abroad – and retains the title of the highest-grossing stop-motion movie of all time. Watch the teaser for the sequel below.
