With Chicken Run 2 releasing on Netflix in 2023, it will have been 23 years since the original's release. Here's why the sequel was delayed.
Chicken Run is a classic stop-motion animation film that revolves around chickens trying to escape a coop. When rooster Rocky suddenly arrives, flying over the fence, the hens approach Rocky for tutelage. For most of the film, he attempts to teach them how to fly over the fence so that they can escape captivity. The film stars Julia Swalha, Mel Gibson, Miranda Richardson, and Tony Haygarth. Chicken Run was subject to critical acclaim and staggering commercial success, becoming the highest-grossing stop-motion animated film of all time.
In 2018, it was announced that Chicken Run 2 was in development and at the 20-year anniversary of Chicken Run, Netflix announced that it had purchased the rights to Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget. While there has been a great deal of buzz surrounding this sequel, its late production has many dumbfounded. Considering the fact that the original film came out over 20 years ago, and to massive popularity and success, why would they choose to develop a sequel now? After 23 years, why is the Chicken Run sequel finally coming out? And why has there been such a long delay?
Unlike many sequels that are planned shortly after the release of the original, Chicken Run 2 was not announced to be in development until 2018. While the initial idea for a sequel may have been talked about before this point, no official announcements had been made. Some would argue that making a sequel 23 years after the initial release of the first film seems somewhat pointless as the film is no longer on the radar and is a memory for most now. However, the tactic to wait and release a sequel after a longer period of time creates a greater sense of nostalgia for the viewer. So, it's entirely possible that the producers and writers for the film chose not to approach a sequel until the time was right.
Related: Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget: Plot, Cast, and Everything Else We Know
One of the main reasons that Chicken Run 2 was stuck in limbo for such a long time is partly because of the fact that the partnership between Aardman Animations and DreamWorks Animation ended in 2006, per Reuters, after the release of Flushed Away. This led to a number of issues in figuring out how to recreate Chicken Run without the assistance of DreamWorks. Now, considering that DreamWorks is a big-budget company with a reputation for releasing fantastic animations including the Shrek and Kung Fu Panda franchises, and StudioCanal is a smaller French production company with far less clout, losing the backing of DreamWorks raised considerable difficulties. That said, StudioCanal has since gotten the assistance from Pathé and Aardman Animations, the latter of which which is known for their stop-motion work.
Since the announcement of Chicken Run 2, the team of people set to work on the film has been gradually confirmed. Karey Kirkpatrick and John O'Farrell, the writers for the original Chicken Run, are the official writers for the sequel, a good sign that the film may go beyond expectations. On top of this, executive producers Peter Lord and David Sproxton also serve as co-founders to Aardman Animations, yet another good sign that Dawn of the Nugget is in the right hands to be a success, just like its predecessor. A well put-together production team, especially bringing in people to work on a sequel who also worked on the original, is a good sign that a film is headed in the right direction.
Related: Chicken Run: 5 Reasons Why It's One of the Best Stop-Motion Movies of All Time
While many things have remained the same, including the writing team, some big changes have been made. In 2021, it was revealed that lead actor Mel Gibson was not asked to return as Rocky in Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget. This may come as a disappointment to many as Rocky is the main source of comedic relief throughout the original film and without Gibson's distinctive voice, it's unlikely that any other actor would be able to recreate this. While no official word has been given as to why Gibson wasn't asked to return in the sequel, there are a great many reasons why Aardman Animations possibly made this decision, with the largest being Gibson's tendency to make inappropriate and offensive jokes and casting him may imply that the company is enabling said behavior.
Started at MovieWeb in November of 2021.