A sequel to animated family favourite Chicken Run has been announced.
Details of the follow-up to the classic adventure were revealed today (June 23) - exactly 20 years to the day since the original was released.
Bristol-based Aardman Animations will begin production early in 2021, with the next chapter in the story to be released globally by streaming giant Netflix.
Peter Lord, Aardman Co-Founder and Creative Director, said: "Fans around the world have waited patiently for a sequel idea worthy of Chicken Run so we’re delighted to announce, on the 20th anniversary, that we’ve found the perfect story.
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"Netflix feels like the ideal creative partner for this project too: they celebrate the film-maker, which means we can make the film we want to make – the one we really care about – and share it with a global audience."
Starring Mel Gibson, Phil Daniels, Tony Haygarth and Lynn Ferguson, the first Chicken Run received rave reviews and continues to entertain viewers young and old two decades on.
Released in June 2000, it follows the story of a flock of chickens as they try to escape their evil owners and remains the highest grossing stop-motion animated film of all time.
It ended with the chickens escaping the fate of being cooked in a pie by the evil Mrs Tweedy and starting a new life in the wild.
What's the plot of the sequel?
Having pulled off a death-defying escape from Tweedy’s farm, Ginger has finally found her dream in the form of 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.
Fans of Aardman's work and the original Chicken Run are very excited about the prospect of the sequel.
In response to Netflix's tweet one fan said: "I think I speak for everyone when I say I’m getting into a bit of a flap! I loved the first one & looking forward to the second."
Another person added: "I can't clucking wait!"
Some people are also keen to know whether the film will be made using stop-motion animation, which Aardman is most known for, or whether the studio will use CGI, as it did for Flushed Away and Arthur Christmas .
This is not yet known, but the sequel is directed by Sam Fell, who directed Flushed Away and ParaNorman, and produced by Steve Pegram, who produced Arthur Christmas, and Leyla Hobart.
