Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park has revealed he is considering a prequel series for fiction’s most formidable foe – Feathers McGraw.
The Oscar-winning filmmaker has had quite the year after the mammoth success of the 2024 festive special, Vengeance Most Fowl, which, among plenty of accolades, also nabbed him the NTA award for special recognition earlier this week.
The latest comedy feature film about the plucky inventor and his dog marked the return of Feathers McGraw in the franchise for the first time in 20 years, since Curse of the Were-rabbit.
Considering the animated character’s sheer popularity, it feels like a no-brainer to explore more of the backstory around this glove-headed penguin with a hankering for revenge.
When discussing the potential for a spin-off story, Nick said: ‘Yeah, actually, I’ve been asked that quite a few times. It’s an interesting thought. I just say, “Yeah, watch this space, really”.
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‘It’s hard to know unless you come up with an idea that really is cracking,’ he added to Radio Times at the NTA awards.
There’s no doubt an appetite for more Feathers McGraw if the UK general public’s adoration is anything to go by. In fact, the arch-nemesis has been a top choice in tattoo parlours across the nation.
After they scooped up their two Bafta wins in February, director Merlin Crossingham discussed the new trend.
‘He’s since become, apparently, the number-one character tattoo request in the UK, which I think is marvellous,’ he said, while Nick quipped: ‘That’s an achievement in itself actually.’
Wallace and Gromit execs tell Metro the magic behind Feathers McGraw
‘You’ve got to love your villain as much as the other characters, definitely,’ Nick shared.
Merlin added: ‘He’s kind of expressionless, and the way he moves – which is really established by Steve Fox on The Wrong Trousers, Steve Box animated Feathers and established that inner strength.
‘We’ve really not changed him. We’ve carried him on. And he is challenging to animate because he doesn’t move – and actually, animators love moving things. That’s the reason for being animators!’
As for how music influences our perception of Feather’s menacing aura, Nick said: ‘Music is that thing you’ve hit on before, without expression.
‘Sometimes it’s just the music, the audience fill in the gap of that – something’s going on in Feathers’ head. He’s formulating some plan.’
Since the stop-motion characters have returned to the screen after so many years, there has been the question of whether this fresh start will mark the beginning of many more.
Last year, Nick told the BBC: ‘[It’s] certainly not the end. I think there’s plenty of bounce still in their bungee. We’ll carry on. There are always ideas worth kicking about.’
And it seems to be the sentiment he is sticking with, echoing to RT that there’s ‘always ideas buzzing around [his] head’.
Speaking to Metro last year, the voice of Wallace, Ben Whitehead, also seemed keen on the idea of returning.
‘It would be fantastic to work on another Wallace and Gromit. The film was so good, so it would be brilliant, but you can’t rush these guys to make a film. We’ll see what happens.’
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