Thanks to the indiscretions that have derailed his mainstream career and seen his mere presence in any project continue to offend a great number of people, not many tears were shed when Netflix sequel Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget revealed that Mel Gibson wouldn’t be returning as Rocky.
However, replacing him with Zachary Levi was certainly a choice given the Shazam! star’s own controversies that have repeatedly seen his social media antics place him right in the firing line, but it was another recasting call that proved to ruffle the most feathers, a pun that’s absolutely intended.
Julia Sawalha won’t be back as Ginger, with the actress noting that her voice was deemed too old to reprise the role, causing her to reflect on “officially [being] plucked, stuffed & roasted” after Thandiwe Newton was drafted in for the long-awaited follow-up to the 2000 favorite.
Speaking to Total Film, director Sam Fell was bullish when questioned on the call to drop the original lead in favor of somebody that’s only five years younger, not that he seemed too concerned by the backlash considering we’re talking about anthropomorphized poultry at the end of the day.
“Some people changed, and some didn’t; it was just a personal choice. It’s all part of bringing it into my realm and making it for now.”
It’s hardly going to make or break Dawn of the Nugget‘s chances of success, because with Aardman at the helm it’s destined for greatness, but it would also be fair to say that Sawalha will be greatly more missed than Gibson for obvious reasons.