The creative team behind The Railway Children Return have explained how the new film pays homage to the original, including the character portrayed by the legendary Bernard Cribbins.
The actor does not reprise the role of friendly station porter Albert Perks, but Game of Thrones actor John Bradley instead features as his grandson, Richard, who very much follows in his footsteps.
In a featurette released to RadioTimes.com, Bradley explained how he aimed to homage the performance given by Cribbins in the 1970 original.
“What I’ve taken from Bernard’s character is that sense of pedantry and a very firm belief that what he’s doing is important work,” he said.
Across the board, The Railway Children Return was intended to pay respect to its predecessor, by revisiting many of the same locations to tell a story that thematically mirrors the first film.
“The idea was to make it clear that we were in honour of the original… I really wanted to capture the social awareness of the original, the depth of emotion and the humour,” said producer Jemma Rodgers.
“Those people who know The Railway Children will look at this new film and see that new adventure and the different magic is there,” added Jenny Agutter, the only original cast member to reprise her role for the sequel.
For more on The Railway Children Return, watch the featurette in full below:
The Railway Children Return is released on Friday 15th July 2022. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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