With the release of Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget this week, Chuck and Shazam! star Zachary Levi steps into the role of Rocky, a chicken originally voiced by Mel Gibson in the 2000 original. This time around, Rocky is dealing with being a dad to a rebellious teenager, and so it’s a very different take on the character than Gibson’s. Still, taking on a role played by one of the most famous actors in Hollywood history is a blessing and a curse. Having done it once, ComicBook.com asked Levi if there were any other Gibson roles that he would put a spin on if he had a chance.
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His answer: Yes…but with an asterisk. Admitting that there are some roles that were so pitch-perfect they shouldn’t be remade, Levi suggested a few Gibson roles that he thought he could do something interesting with.
“I mean, obviously Lethal Weapon — particularly the first two — just so good,” Levi said.
After ComicBook.com’s Chris Killian suggested Maverick, Levi really became engaged: “Oh my God! Loved, loved Maverick. Absolutely, would love to play Maverick,” Levi said, adding, “Here’s the thing, though, I also don’t want to touch a lot of these roles, because he did them so well. It’s like Braveheart, you can’t go do that. Payback was another fun one I really liked of his.”
Here’s the film’s official synopsis:
From the multi Academy and BAFTA award-winning Aardman (Creature Comforts, Wallace & Gromit, and Shaun the Sheep), and Academy Award and BAFTA-nominated director Sam Fell (ParaNorman and Flushed Away, respectively), comes Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, the eagerly anticipated sequel to the beloved and highest-grossing stop-motion animated film of all time, Chicken Run.
Having pulled off a death-defying escape from Tweedy’s farm, Ginger has 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!
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is set to release on Netflix on Friday, December 15.
