Julia Sawalha is Being Re-Cast in Chicken Run 2, As Now She Sounds “Too Old”

British actress Julia Sawalha has posted a letter on twitter claiming that she is not being cast in the upcoming Chicken Run sequel on Netflix because her voice now sounds “too old”.

 

In the letter Sawalha published online, She said, she has been told by producers via email through her agent that she would not be cast as the character of Ginger and they will recast it with a younger actress in the sequel. She also said that in these kind of circumstances, an actress would be given a chance to do a voice test but she hadn’t been given the opportunity to determine her suitability of her pitch and tone.

 

Below is Sawalha's tweet that she has posted with the hashtag #ageism:

 

Chicken Run 2 announcement!
I have officially been plucked, stuffed & roasted.
If you are interested, do read what I have to say about it.#ageism @actforchangehqhttps://t.co/MqUCOLWuPZ

— Julia Sawalha (@JuliaSawalha1) July 9, 2020

 

Sawalha took the step of recording her own voice test at home and then she sent it to producers Aardman Animations, and they had responded with, “Some of the voices (not yours, I agree) definitely sound older,” however they stated, “We will be going ahead to re-cast the voice of Ginger”.

You can view the voice test recording @ https://vimeo.com/436878444/9f85aae60e

 

She said “I received my letter of dismissal the day before it was announced that the 'Lone Free Ranger' had been axed from the sequel and that the character of Rocky was to be re-voiced. The reason given was that his voice is now too old. I feel I have been fobbed off with the same excuse.”

 

“let's be frank, I feel been unfairly dismissed, to say I am devastated and furious would be an understatement. I feel totally powerless in all of this doesn't quite ring true. I trust my instincts and they are waving red lags.”

 

The original Chicken Run was released back in 2000, which grossed more than $224M globally. It was revealed last month that the sequel was heading to Netflix and production is set to start next year.

 

Last month it was reported that Mel Gibson voiced Rocky would be recast, though there was speculation that announcement was linked to accusations of anti-semitism.