Aardman Fans Celebrate Return of Feathers McGraw in Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

It’s a monumental day for Feathers McGraw fans as the dastardly penguin is back to wreak havoc in the new Aardman feature Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.

Aardman, the studio behind Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep and Chicken Run, set out to beak the internet by sharing a teaser on X/Twitter for its new film, titled Vengeance Most Fowl, which will premiere on the BBC in the UK and globally on Netflix this winter and features the icon that is Feathers McGraw.

The short video shows the villain’s possessions — comprising a fish keychain with keys, a comb, a tape measure, and a totally inconspicuous red rubber glove — put in a prison tray before he enters a cell, strolls into the spotlight and cracks his neck.

In Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, “Gromit’s concern that Wallace is becoming too dependent on his inventions proves justified when Wallace invents a ‘smart’ gnome that seems to develop a mind of its own,” per the official synopsis from Aardman Animations. “When it emerges that a vengeful figure from the past might be masterminding things, it falls to Gromit to battle sinister forces and save his master… or Wallace may never be able to invent again!”

Netflix shared two first-look images on X/Twitter — one showing Feathers, a penguin who regularly passes himself off as a chicken to evade the authorities, having his photo snapped as part of a police line-up, and the other of Wallace & Gromit getting their van loaded up for their “gnome improvements” business.

Feathers McGraw first waddled onto the scene in the 1993 short film The Wrong Trousers and has stepped out for a few cameos since, including a brief appearance in last year’s Chicken Run sequel, so people were a bit flipping excited to hear that the penguin with a penchant for mischief was going to be back in action.

Vengeance Most Fowl will be led by Ben Whitehead, voicing Wallace, and will also feature Peter Kay reprising his Curse of the Were-Rabbit character Chief Inspector (formerly PC) Mackintosh, alongside new cast members Lauren Patel and Reece Shearsmith, with cameos from Diane Morgan, Adjoa Andoh, and Lenny Henry.

Feathers McGraw doesn’t speak aloud and relies solely on facial expressions to convey his feelings, but it’s safe to say he would look pretty smug over the internet’s reaction to his return. He will show up in the film when it comes out on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK and Netflix for the rest of the world later this year.

Cover image credit: Aardman Animations.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter here.