Audiences were first introduced to Aardman Animations’ Shaun the Sheep in 1995’s “A Close Shave,” the third Wallace and Gromit film. Afterwards, Shaun starred in his own spin-off series, “Shaun the Sheep,” and two tie-in movies. As for if the animated properties will ever cross paths again, Shaun’s creator, Nick Park, says not to count on it.
Speaking to The Radio Times, Park stated that they likely won’t reunite, given the different realities these characters live in. “Gromit and Shaun started off together, but since Shaun got his own series, we’ve sort of separated the worlds, because they’re slightly different, with different rules,” Park explained. “With Wallace and Gromit, everything’s a bit retro. They rarely have a TV on … They don’t have mobile phones and they don’t really have computers, but if they do, they’re like antiques. ‘Shaun the Sheep’ is more flexible in terms of the modern world. There’s social media and you can dial for pizza!”
But even without any future crossovers planned, Aardman has made minor exceptions from time to time, with the Farmer from “Shaun the Sheep” making a cameo in 2024’s “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.” Park also added that the team considered having Wallace and Gromit appear on their “Close Shave” motorbike in “Shaun the Sheep Movie.”
How Shaun the Sheep became a standalone star
“A Close Shave” introduced Shaun as a one-off supporting character for Wallace and Gromit, wandering into the duo’s lives in the midst of a sheep-rustling operation, for which Gromit was framed. In reality, the culprit was the much more malevolent mechanical mutt, Preston. Shaun helped Wallace break Gromit out of prison and put a stop to Preston’s plans to turn the sheep – and Wallace and Gromit – into dog food.
In 2007, 12 years after “A Close Shave,” Shaun returned to television screens in “Shaun the Sheep.” The series debuted on CBBC in the UK and the Disney Channel in the US. This spin-off saw Shaun now living as part of a flock of sheep on a farm, run by a bumbling farmer and his loyal sheepdog, Bitzer. The franchise has launched two films, “Shaun the Sheep Movie” and “A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon,” with a third installment, “Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom,” set for release in 2026.
Meanwhile, Wallace and Gromit are still going strong, with the feature-length “Vengeance Most Fowl,” debuting on BBC One in the UK in 2024 and on Netflix globally in early 2025. Nick Park has indicated that more Wallace and Gromit adventures are to come, but no plans have been confirmed as yet.