Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is hatching a London Film Festival world premiere

After years of waiting to come out of its shell, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is ready to hatch. Aardman‘s long-awaited sequel will premiere at the London Film Festival on October 14 at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall as part of the festival’s annual Mayor of London gala. Additionally, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget will screen in film houses across the UK, with the sequel’s Netflix global premiere set for December 15, 2023.

The voice cast of Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget includes Thandiwe Newton as Ginger, Zachary Levi as Rocky Rhodes, Bella Ramsey as Molly, Romesh Ranganathan as Nick, Daniel Mays as Fetcher, David Bradley as Fowler, Jane Horrocks as Babs, Imelda Staunton as Bunty, Lynn Ferguson as Mac, Josie Sedgwick-Davies as Frizzle, and Nick Mohammed as Dr. Fry.

In June, Phil Lord said that he and Aardman co-founder Nick Park had discussed various ideas for a sequel to Chicken Run (lovingly described as “The Great Escape with chickens”) over the years but finally found the idea for Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget during a brainstorming session with the original film’s writer Karey Kirkpatrick. Here’s how: “We came up with the idea that if in the original they were breaking out, this time they would be breaking in.”

Here’s an official synopsis for Aardman’s Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget:

Set shortly after the death-defying escape from Tweedy’s farm in the original, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget sees Ginger having 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!

The sequel’s director, Sam Fell, was intimidated by the original film’s popularity but was drawn to the sequel by the strength of the characters. He said Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget moves the story “into the ’60s and an era of industrial farming. We imagined this factory farm will be making nuggets, not just any old nuggets, the world’s first nugget. You can imagine that the recipe for the first nugget would be a highly guarded secret. It would be top security. We took that and kept pushing it and exaggerated this factory farm so it had a Bond villain’s layout with ridiculous security. It gave us kind of a genre to work in. We got into this notion of it being a Bond movie with chickens.”

Sam Fell (Flushed Away) directs Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget from a script by Karey Kirkpatrick, John O’Farrell, and Rachel Tunnard. The producers are Steve Pegram (Arthur Christmas) and Leyla Hobart. Executive producers include Peter Lord, Carla Shelley, Karey Kirkpatrick, and Nick Park.

Released by DreamWorks Pictures, Chicken Run centers on a flock of chickens who think their only hope of escaping incarceration is a hotshot rooster to teach them how to fly. In addition to being a beautifully animated film, Chicken Run presents a gripping commentary on imprisonment and the toppling of those who rule with an iron grip.

Let us know in the comments below if you’re looking forward to reconnecting with Ginger, Rocky, and the rest of the gang for Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget!