Exclusive: Chicken Run sequel will screen in theatres alongside Netflix release

Netflix announced earlier today (23rd June) that it will be debuting a follow-up to the popular 2000 Aardman animation on its streaming platform.

https://twitter.com/NetflixUK/status/1275323166018211840

The sequel was originally announced back in April 2018, though Netflix's involvement hadn't previously been confirmed.

Now, RadioTimes.com can exclusively confirm that, in addition to being available to stream from home, Chicken Run 2 will also be released to cinemas, for what a source is calling an "awards qualifying theatrical release".

Hopes are high, then, for the sequel, with Aardman apparently angling for awards glory with a theatrical run – great news for fans who were hoping to experience the film on the big screen.

Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, the screenwriters of the original film, have returned to write the Chicken Run sequel, which will be helmed by Sam Fell, co-director of Aardman's 2006 effort Flushed Away.

The movie will pick up on the human-free island where the chickens now live and feature Molly, the daughter of the original film's leads Rocky and Ginger (played in the first film by Mel Gibson and Julia Sawalha) – when a new threat emerges, Ginger is forced to get the chickens back into action.

"We’ve got the perfect story [for the sequel]," said Aardman Animations co-founder (and co-director of the original Chicken Run) Peter Lord. "The relationship with Netflix is kind of perfect as well because they celebrate the filmmaker and are so filmmaker friendly.

"I feel now we can make the Chicken Run sequel we want to, the one we really care about."

The Chicken Run sequel is currently scheduled to begin production in 2021.

Additional reporting by Patrick Cremona

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