Little was shared about the plot, though, or how the movie would be distributed. Today, during the Annecy animation festival, Aardman reportedly revealed that the sequel will follow the lovable gang as they try to sneak back into the old farm. The heroic lovebirds Ginger and Rocky now have a child called Molly, Indiewire reports, who is keen to explore and embrace the outside world. “It’ll be fun and games seeing these chickens back in action,” John O’ Farrell, one of the original Chicken Run writers told attendees online.

POULTRY NEWS: Exactly 20 years to the day since the original was released, we can confirm there will be a Chicken Run sequel coming to Netflix!! Produced by @aardman, production is expected to begin next year. Eggsellent.

— Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) June 23, 2020

As Variety explains, Studiocanal has helped finance and distribute Aardman productions since the original Shaun the Sheep Movie in 2015. The deal with Netflix reportedly covers all markets outside of China — a dramatic expansion on the licensing agreement drawn up for Farmageddon, and one that highlights how hungry the company is for high quality family-friendly movies.

Netflix has countless competitors now, including Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max and Apple TV+. The introduction of these services has slowly restricted the movie-making partners that Netflix can work with, and pushed it toward independent studios like Aardman that are keen to find new financiers.

That strategy has born some fruit. The Christmas-themed Klaus, developed by Sergio Pablos Animation Studios, was praised for its stylish aesthetic and won countless industry awards. Netflix also picked up the worldwide distribution rights to I Lost My Body, an arthouse project that received an equally impressive array of accolades last year.

Aardman, meanwhile, is currently working on Robin Robin, a holiday special bound for Netflix this year, and A Winter’s Tale, a half-hour special that will be available on BBC One in the UK and Netflix in a slew of markets including the US in 2021.