Chicken Run fans confused as Mel Gibson is replaced as voice of Rocky with Zachary Levi

Finally, FINALLY the time has come, and a trailer for the sequel to Chicken Run is here. It's what we've all been waiting for, but the trailer has sparked mixed responses as fans realised Mel Gibson is no longer the voice of Rocky the rooster.

The actor brought the chaotic character to life all the way back in 2000, voicing Rocky as he crash-landed into the chicken coop and took it upon himself to try and teach its inhabitants how to fly.

Rocky charmed the hens with his smooth talking, but as we prepare to return to the world of farm animals for the sequel, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, fans will have to get used to Rocky with a whole new voice.

The trailer for Dawn of the Nugget arrived today (5 September), offering a first glimpse at the Netflix movie which follows Ginger as her flock find themselves faced with a new and terrible threat.

Miranda Richardson will be returning to the role of Mrs. Tweedy, while Harry Potter star Imelda Staunton will once again be voicing Bunty, but there'll also be a whole host of new additions to the cast.

Thandiwe Newton will be taking over from Julia Sawalha as the voice of Ginger, while her on-screen daughter Molly will be played by The Last Of Us star Bella Ramsay.

As for Rocky, Gibson will be replaced by Shazam! actor Zachary Levi.

The new casting has sparked confused responses from fans, with many unsure about how Rocky will turn out as Levi brings him to life.

Instagram/@zacharylevi

The Shazam! star has recently sparked controversy as he described the actor's guild’s restrictions on promoting studio content during the ongoing writers strike as 'so dumb' - comments which he's since said were taken 'out of context' - and for criticising some of the content that comes out of Hollywood as 'garbage'.

And Twitter users made reference to this controversies following the release of the trailer, with one person commenting: "Omg-I did not realize they replaced Mel Gibson with Zachary Levi in the new Chicken Run. That publicity team cannot win."

While some thought the recast was 'very funny', with one writing: "I do think it’s very funny they got Zachary Levi to replace Mel Gibson."

Another added: "Can we all take a moment to appreciate the fact that in an effort to go less controversial, the new Chicken Run movie has the character prev voiced by Mel Gibson now done by…Zachary Levi. LOL."

Gibson himself became the subject of controversy in the mid-noughties, when he was accused of using anti-Semitic and sexist language.

LADbible has reached out Zachary Levi's reps for comment.

Fans will have to wait and see how Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget goes down with Levi in the role of Rocky, with the film set to be released on 15 December.

Topics: Celebrity, TV and Film, Netflix

Emily Brown

Emily Brown is the Community Desk Lead at LADbible Group. Emily first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route. She went on to graduate with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University before contributing to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems. She joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features, and now works as Community Desk Lead to commission and write human interest stories from across the globe.