It’s a shame that after being announced in 2007 (yes, it really has been that long), nothing is still going on with the Child’s Play remake, which is being written and directed by series creator Don Mancini – if it ever happens, that is. The guys over at Screen Junkies got to chat with Mancini at a recent screening of Seed Of Chucky, where he updated them on the status of his long-gestating reboot.
The most exciting thing about the proposed reboot is that it will be in a darker, more serious vein, which might be just the shot in the arm the series needs after the disappointing box office returns for the more jokey entries. If they’re looking for a viable angle that will make it stand apart from the series, which Mancini claims “won’t necessarily be a strict remake”, that’ll do the trick.

Although Mancini is keeping the exact details of the new entry under wraps, he did go on to say that “We’d definitely keep the mythology of Charles Lee Ray, the idea of Chucky being possessed by a killer rather than what you’re referring to, that Chucky was the embodiment of this boy’s id… We’ve explored a number of different possible scenarios. I’m definitely pushing to go in a very disturbing direction because I feel like if we’re going to go back to it being a horror movie, let’s make it really disturbing.”

As far as the rights situation goes, it’s true, MGM is holding up the development of the film, but all is not lost. MGM and Warner recently worked out their Hobbit woes, so things could eventually turn around. I think, at this point, the real issue is whether or not it’s worth it for Universal/Rogue to buy the rights for the entire franchise (they only own sequel rights at this point), and because the last few sequels they made didn’t exactly set the world on fire, they probably need a little more than a promise of making a vast overhaul of the series’ tone before they commit.

Head over to Screen Junkies to check out the whole interview.