If you were excited about a sequel to Chicken Run after 20 years, we have some news that is supremely disappointing.

British actress Julia Sawalha, who voiced the character Ginger in the original stop-motion animated movie from Aardman Animation, recently revealed that she will not be reprising her role in Chicken Run 2 for one very stupid reason. Apparently the producers of the movie told Sawalha's agent that Ginger would be recast with a younger actress because her voice was deemed to sound `too old.` This decision came without even being given a voice test to make that determination.

In the letter linked in her tweet, she explained, `Last week I was informed out of the blue, via email, through my agent that I would not be cast as Ginger in the Chicken Run sequel. The reason they gave is that my voice now sounds 'too old' and they want a younger actress to reprise the role.`

It's not clear if any of the other Chicken Run cast members are returning, or if they're all being brushed off with the same excuse. The actress closed the letter by saying:

`I feel I have been unfairly dismissed. To say I am devastated and furious would be an understatement. I feel totally powerless, something in all of this doesn't quite ring true. I trust my instincts and they are waving red flags. I am saddened that I have lost the chance to work with Nick Park and Peter Lord from whom I learnt so much. The three of us, together, created Ginger. Today I responded by wishing the production the best of luck and the greatest success with the sequel.`

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Fowl play? #ChickenRun voice star Julia Sawalha is accusing producers of ageism after being "plucked" from the sequel for sounding "too old." Head to link in bio to read her open letter.

A post shared by Hollywood Reporter (@hollywoodreporter) on Jul 10, 2020 at 10:31am PDT

It's simultaneously shocking and yet not surprising at all that this kind of thing is still happening, especially when there's clear evidence that the reasoning isn't even sound...and I mean that quite literally. A big part of the reason that Chicken Run works so well is because of the great cast, and to shove off one of the stars so disrespectfully like this is truly disappointing.