Why were Rocky and Ginger recast?
It's official, after more than 20 years since the release of the first movie, Rocky and Ginger are now back on our screens for the sequel to Chicken Run. Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget dropped on Netflix this morning (15 December) and we're super excited to head back to our childhoods with the animated movie. But before you dive into the movie one thing you may notice is Rocky and Ginger sound, er, a bit different. And that's because the two main characters have been recast.
In the original movie Rocky was voiced by Mel Gibson and Ginger by Julia Sawalha. Rocky and Ginger organised an escape from the Tweedy's farm and managed to get themselves and the rest of the chickens to safety on the bird sanctuary island, where they began their romantic relationship.
Now in Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, Rocky and Ginger are back but this time with new voices. Rocky is being voiced by Zachary Levi, while Thandiwe Newton is playing Ginger.
Netflix
When the sequel was first announced in June 2020, it wasn't initially confirmed if Gibson and Sawalha would be reprising their roles. And a month later Sawalha revealed she hadn't been asked back to reprise her role.
It wasn't until 2022 that the new cast for the roles had been confirmed, however no official reasoning was given at the time for why the roles had been changed.
Since then, the film's director Sam Fell (who didn't direct the first movie) has explained his decision to switch up the casting, saying he wanted to take a fresh look at the casting.
Speaking ahead of the film's premiere in October, Fell said, "I just started thinking, were all those casting decisions made in the late '90s still the best for the roles now? It's a very personal creative process and I felt in some cases it didn't quite fit anymore.
"Sometimes I felt it should stay the same. Ultimately I felt like this film has evolved since the first film. The world has turned on its axis and things have changed."
Netflix
Fell has since further explained his comments more, telling Digital Spy he saw the movie more as 'reboot'.
"It was just an organic thing, really. It was just an evolution. We started by casting the new characters with Molly and Bella Ramsey – it was such a great moment for us to get Bella," he explained. "In that process, I had a casting director so, it being 23 years later, I just said to the casting director, 'Well, what do you think? What do you think about all the characters? What are your ideas? Let's consider everything'.
"We'd made lists, and names started popping out to me. And so I think, it's been a matter of me finding a way to evolve this film."
Rocky and Ginger aren't the only two changes in the cast. Bella Ramsey has also joined the cast as Rocky and Ginger's daughter Molly, whom the two must recuse in the new film after she disappears and ends up in a new chicken farm, ran by Mrs Tweedy.
Also joining the cast for the sequel are Romesh Ranganathan and Daniel Mays, who are replacing Timothy Spall and Phil Daniels as rat duo Nick and Fetcher. Following the passing of Benjamin Whitrow in 2017, who played Fowler, David Bradley has now taken on the role.
However, you will still hear some voices from the original movie as Imelda Staunton is returning as Bunty, Jane Horrocks as Babs, Lynn Ferguson as Mac and of course Miranda Richardson as villain Mrs Tweedy who returns to terrorise the chickens in the sequel.
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is available on Netflix now
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Lydia VennSenior Entertainment and Lifestyle Writer
Lydia Venn is Cosmopolitan UK’s Senior Entertainment and Lifestyle Writer. She covers everything from , to the latest celebrity news. She also writes across our work/life section regularly creating , covering exciting new releases and sharing the latest must-haves. In her role she’s interviewed everyone from Margot Robbie to Niall Horan, and her work has appeared on an episode of . After completing a degree in English at the University of Exeter, Lydia moved into journalism, writing for the , before working as Features Editor at , where she spoke on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and Talk Radio. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of Gilmore Girls and 00s teen movies, and in her free time can be found with a margarita in hand watching the Real Housewives on repeat. Find her on .
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