‘Chicken Run’ Sequel Is On It’s Way!!

Far and away the most successful stop-motion animated feature ever, Aardman’s Chicken Run is finally get a sequel 20 years later. Animation veteran and director of such films as Flushed Away, ParaNorman and The Tale of Despereaux, Sam Fell is on board to direct the currently untitled sequel, which the original movie’s writing team of Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell will script.

THR reports that StudioCanal and Pathe are on board for the Aardman-animated sequel, though details are being kept hush-hush ahead of the project’s release to the markets. A big selling point, beyond the obvious, is the cast; will the original voice actors return? They included Mel Gibson, Julia Sawalha, and Miranda Richardson with Jane Horrocks, Lynn Ferguson, Imelda Staunton, Timothy Spall and Phil Daniels, as well as the late Benjamin Whitrow and Tony Haygarth.

On the producing side of things are Paul Kewley, with Aardman co-founders Peter Lord and David Sproxton executive producing. Animation is expected to commence at Aardman’s Bristol-based studio after wrapping on the Shaun the Sheep sequel, Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, which is due in the U.K. on April 5, 2019. Time will tell if any of Aardman’s future films, Chicken Run 2 included, can top the original’s record setting run of $225 million worldwide. It’s still the animation studio’s #1 film and has outperformed all of LAIKA’s best, as well.