We recently found out that a sequel to Aardman's much loved 2000 stop motion animated hit Chicken Run is in development for Netflix, and one of the original movie's voice stars is not too happy about being recast.
Julia Sawalha, who provided the voice of Ginger in the first film, has shared an open letter on social media along with the hashtag #ageism, in which she reveals that she's "devastated and saddened" not to be reprising the role for the planned sequel. The now 51-year-old actress says she was told that her voice now sounds "too old," and they want a younger actress to take over the part.
Sawalha says she even recorded her own voice test at home and sent it in, and while a member of the production team agreed that didn't sound any older, she was still informed that the role was being recast.
You can check out Julia's statement in full at the link below.
There's a lot of speculation that the producers might simply be using Sawalha's age as an excuse because they don't want to recast Mel Gibson as Rocky (for obvious reasons) and would rather start fresh with an all-new cast. THR has reached out to Aardman for a response.
Chicken Run 2 is said to take place on the human-free island where the chickens now live and feature Molly, the daughter of Ginger and Rocky. When a new threat emerges, Ginger is forced to get the chickens back into action.
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Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.