Horror icon Chucky, the murderous doll inhabited by the soul of a fictional serial murderer by the name of Charles Lee Ray, is going through all kinds of changes lately, in the form of movies and television.
The original film, Child’s Play , was released in 1988 and has since spawned six sequels.
Child’s Play is now receiving a film reboot, courtesy of MGM. Unofficial reports state that filmmakers are set to make an updated version of the popular horror movie, apparently taking a coming-of-age approach, similar to that of Stranger Things or Stephen King’s IT, which follow a group of kids. The premise was originally made popular in ’80s films like Stand By Me and Monster Squad .
Other rumors circulating the Child’s Play reboot have included Chucky being a more technologically advanced doll, rather than the standard plastic “Good Guy” doll from the original.
Screen Rant has provided fans a potential update for the status of the film, stating that filmmakers are reportedly trying to tap actress Liv Tyler to star in the movie.
No stranger to the horror genre, Liv Tyler also previously starred in a different horror franchise, the 2008 Bryan Bertino-directed home-invasion movie The Strangers. The prospect of Tyler appearing in the remake of Child’s Play has some fans online wondering if she’s trying to build up her horror movie cred.
Aside from the possible departures mentioned for the plot details, one of the more controversial aspects of the Child’s Play remake is the issue of who will voice the murderous doll. Chucky was originally voiced by One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest and Lord of the Rings actor Brad Dourif. Dourif has voiced Chucky in all seven films. Reports have also stated that the movie studio wishes to go in a new direction, replacing Brad Dourif, a move which doesn’t sit well with a large number of horror fans.
The remake of Child’s Play may also have to compete with a Chucky television series. Original creator Don Mancini announced in February of this year that a TV series was in development and confirmed last June that the show will be an eight-part series and that Brad Dourif will , in fact, be returning to voice Chucky.
The forthcoming series is also set to be canonical within the world of the original seven films in the franchise.
Furthermore, there are still other Chucky films planned within the continuity of the ongoing Child’s Play franchise, no word on how MGM plans to handle such a potential marketing nightmare.
The most recent Child’s Play movie is Cult of Chucky , which was released straight to Netflix in October of 2017.
