Nick Park, the creator, co-writer, and director of all five “Wallace & Gromit” films, has admitted that he wants to bring the beloved characters back for further movies.
Between 1990 and 2010 five “Wallace & Gromit” films were released, each of which were nominated for Academy Awards, with “The Wrong Trousers,” “A Close Shave,” and “The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit” taking home gongs.
But the death of Peter Sallis, who voiced Wallace in the films, in 2017 at the age of 96 meant that the future of the series was immediately put in limbo.
Early this week I had the opportunity to speak to Park about his new film “Early Man,” during which time I quizzed him about the future of “Wallace & Gromit,” specifically when it came to possibly replacing Peter Sallis.
“Obviously it is a sensitive issue. Who would play Wallace would be quite a big issue, because Peter brought such a unique quality to the character. I think Peter himself would have wanted us to carry on. But it is hard shoes to fill.”
At this point I asked him whether he had developed any more ideas for “Wallace & Gromit,” which provoked him to admit, “I have lots more ‘Wallace & Gromit’ ideas. And I would love to be able to do them, and bring back ‘Wallace & Gromit’.”
Considering the huge success of the past “Wallace & Gromit” films there will be plenty of people interested in seeing further stories from the characters. But while Nick Park stopped short of revealing too much about them he did at least tease that, if he does eventually make another “Wallace & Gromit” film, it will probably be as a short.
“I don’t know, because I haven’t highly developed anything yet. It is all just ideas floating around in the back of my head. If it suited a feature film I would consider it. But I am somehow thinking that the shorts worked probably best. Once you come out of a feature film it is hard to think about doing another one, because it takes years.”
While we wait with bated breath for further “Wallace & Gromit” news, make sure that you check out Nick Park’s latest film “Early Man” when it is released on February 16.
