Netflix has unveiled the trailer for its sequel to the celebrated animated film, Chicken Run. Entitled Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, the new movie is set to hit the platform on December 15th. Watch the trailer below.
Arriving 23 years after the original, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget takes place in the aftermath of the first film. The chickens, led by Ginger and Rocky Rhodes, have escaped from the chicken farm and have settled down in safety at a bird sanctuary. But when news of menacing new practices at the chicken farm reaches their idyllic home, they must take drastic measures to protect their freedom and their fellow chickens. “Last time, we broke out of a chicken farm — this time, we’re breaking in,” Ginger says in the trailer.
Despite being a sequel, most of the film’s original voice cast is not featured in Dawn of the Nugget. Mel Gibson, for obvious reasons, was not asked to reprise Rocky Rhodes. Instead, Zachery Levi has been cast to voice the American circus rooster.
Julia Sawalha, who voiced the chickens’ heroic leader, Ginger, has been replaced by Thandiwe Newton. Sawalha has since indicated that the decision was the result of ageism, claiming that her voice was considered “too old” for the part. In a now-deleted tweet, she wrote that she has “officially been plucked, stuffed, and roasted.”
The cast also includes Bella Ramsey, of The Last of Us, who will voice a new character named Molly, the chickling of Ginger and Rocky. Also featured in the film are Romesh Ranganathan, Daniel Mays, David Bradley, Jane Horrocks, Imelda Staunton, Lynn Ferguson, Miranda Richardson, Nick Mohammed, and Peter Serafinowicz.
Sam Fell directed the film, working off of a script penned by the original film’s writers, Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell.
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget will premiere at the 67th London Film Festival on October 14th, after which it’ll have a limited theatrical run in the UK. The film will arrive on Netflix on December 15th.
