Movies
How Steven Spielberg Helped Save the ‘Child’s Play’ Franchise in Its Early Years [Exclusive]
We’re still in shock after learning that MGM will be remaking Child’s Play, even though the canonized franchise is alive and well with creators Don Mancini and David Kirschner developing a television series and even more sequels. How the hell did we get here? Well, there’s actually an interesting story behind it. You see, MGM and United Artists were behind the 1988 box office hit Child’s Play, which pulled in $33M in its domestic theatrical run ($74M adjusted for inflation)…
“They immediately ordered a second film because it had done so well and was received so well,” Kirschner tells me. “We were in pre-production and getting everything ready, and I’m on a plane to Cincinnati when Richard Burger (head of production for MGM and United Artists) called. ‘There’s a guy by the name of Christopher Skase at Quintex, they’re buying the company and don’t want to make horror movies,’ he said. I was enraged.”
While the initial news made a young Kirschner irate, his legal team calmed his nerves. “Within 24 hours, everyone in town is going to bidding on this thing,” they told him.
“The phone started ringing like crazy,” he continued, revealing that “one of those phone calls were Steven Spielberg himself,” who was using his weight to help bring Chucky and the Child’s Play franchise to Universal Pictures.
“An American Tail became the highest grossing animated film of all time, at the time. Steven (who executive produced the film) said, ‘Look, you made your first film with Universal, just give them your wish list of what you want and I would have done my job in giving them the first crack at it.’ I owe my career to him and that’s still the case today – I went back to them and said, ‘Because of Steven, we’re bringing it to you first,’ and they met almost all of the demands. That’s how we got into the relationship with Universal when five other studios were bidding on it.”
There you have it, folks, the true story on how Chucky was resurrected at Universal Studios after MGM and United Artists had kicked dirt in the face of the horror genre. Now, because MGM/UA made the first film, they are able to remake it and use the name Child’s Play, even though Mancini, Kirschner, and Universal continue to collaborate on canonized sequels and a forthcoming television series that will also bring back Brad Dourif to voice Chucky once again. As for Spielberg, he would eventually work with Chucky by dropping the horror icon into his Ready Player One with a juicy cameo.
Since Universal got behind the franchise, it has spawned six sequels, including last year’s well-received Cult of Chucky, also directed by creator Don Mancini and produced by David Kirschner.
While we wait to see how everything develops, how cool of a story is this?!
Movies
’28 Years Later’ – Ralph Fiennes, Jodie Comer, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson Join Long Awaited Sequel
Danny Boyle and Alex Garland (Annihilation, Men), the director and writer behind 2002’s hit horror film 28 Days Later, are reteaming for the long-awaited sequel, 28 Years Later. THR reports that the sequel has cast Jodie Comer (Alone in the Dark, “Killing Eve”), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kraven the Hunter), and Ralph Fiennes (The Menu).
The plan is for Garland to write 28 Years Later and Boyle to direct, with Garland also planning on writing at least one more sequel to the franchise – director Nia DaCosta is currently in talks to helm the second installment.
No word on plot details as of this time, or who Comer, Taylor-Johnson, and Fiennes may play.
28 Days Later received a follow up in 2007 with 28 Weeks Later, which was executive produced by Boyle and Garland but directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. Now, the pair hope to launch a new trilogy with 28 Years Later. The plan is for Garland to write all three entries, with Boyle helming the first installment.
Boyle and Garland will also produce alongside original producer Andrew Macdonald and Peter Rice, the former head of Fox Searchlight Pictures, the division of one-time studio Twentieth Century Fox that originally backed the British-made movie and its sequel.
The original film starred Cillian Murphy “as a man who wakes up from a coma after a bicycle accident to find England now a desolate, post-apocalyptic collapse, thanks to a virus that turned its victims into raging killers. The man then navigates the landscape, meeting a survivor played by Naomie Harris and a maniacal army major, played by Christopher Eccleston.”
Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) is on board as executive producer, though the actor isn’t set to appear in the film…yet.
Talks of a third installment in the franchise have been coming and going for the last several years now – at one point, it was going to be titled 28 Months Later – but it looks like this one is finally getting off the ground here in 2024 thanks to this casting news. Stay tuned for more updates soon!
Looking for New Episodes of “Chucky” on Peacock? Here’s What Changed
Five Underseen Vampire Horror Movies to Stream This Week
Dev Patel’s ‘Monkey Man’ Is Now Available to Watch at Home!
‘The Blair Witch Project’ – Original Stars Release a Statement Asking Lionsgate for Residuals & Recognition
‘Mountain Man’ – Joe Manganiello Will Battle Zombies in Upcoming Horror Movie
You must be logged in to post a comment.