For months now, many fans of the Child’s Play franchise have expressed concern over Orion’s “reimagining”. Would it stay true to the tone of the originals? And most importantly, who would voice Chucky? During a panel on the reboot at WonderCon Saturday, those questions were answered in a BIG way.
As fans waited in curious silence, panel host Clark Collis of Entertainment Weekly called up a group of cast/crew consisting of producers Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg, director Lars Klevberg, writer Tyler Burton Smith, and stars Aubrey Plaza and Gabriel Bateman. After a short introduction, we were shown some brief footage, followed by an announcement that caused the entire room to go up in cheers: Mark Hamill would be voicing Chucky!
Hamill may be best known as Luke Skywalker from Star Wars, but arguably his greatest performance has been voicing the Joker, which he first did in the 1992 Batman: The Animated Series. Perfectly sadistic and maniacal as Batman’s greatest villain, getting Hamill to voice Chucky is a brilliant move that feels almost too good to be true. Apparently, the producers thought so as well, as Seth revealed that Hamill was their “first choice”, and that “to have an icon reimagine an iconic character is a gift.” Tyler adds, “I had never obviously thought Mark Hamill would be in this movie…as soon as they told me, I thought it was perfect”. Watching the video announcement revealing Hamill as the voice of Chucky, it’s easy to say, perfect is right. Actor Brad Dourif will always be our Chucky, but I have no doubt that Hamill is going to kill it. Literally.
One thing that became clear early on during the discussion with the panel is that Child’s Play is in very good hands. Seth describes receiving the first call from Orion about the project, saying “(they) were looking at reimagining Child’s Play…our first question was why?” The producers felt that if they were going to do this, it would have to be done right. Tyler shares those sentiments, adding: “I was terrified initially…there’s a lot of weight to take on a story as delicate as Child’s Play…I felt a lot of calm realizing they (Orion) were coming at it for the right reasons”. Tyler’s script ended up being so well-received that it fast tracked the production, with a period of only six months between the first meeting on the film to the first day of production, it was that exciting. Seth calls the script “super smart (and) emotional,” with Lars feeling the same way, saying “I didn’t know what to expect, so I read it and I was just blown away…I haven’t read anything like that in many, many years”. You could argue that the studio rushed the project, but from the sound of it, everyone was just excited to get Chucky back on the silver screen.
As for what to expect from the script, well, there are A LOT of changes. Aubrey Plaza puts it best, saying “I was very surprised by the script…I like this version of Chucky, where technology becomes the villain”. It’s been made clear from the ads that technology plays a huge role in the film, reinventing Chucky as an intelligent, robotic toy rather than a hunk of plastic possessed by the soul of a serial killer. “It seemed like an opportunity to talk about some things going on in 2019…like what happens when your Alexa decides to kill you,” says Seth, joking in reference to how our households are full of smart technology, but adding on a serious note in reference to this new Chucky that, “it seems like something we’re five years away from in the real world. It’s creepy to think about like this is going to happen…what happens when something goes wrong”, he asks, referring to leaving children alone with these toys. Something tells me the answer involves blood. Lots of it.
As you can tell, this Child’s Play is taking things in a far different direction, both in story and thematically. For one, Andy is much more alone this time around. An older version of Andy (13, to be exact), he isn’t as watched over as he is in the original, and must face things without the help of his mother, unlike in Tom Holland’s film, where Catherine Hicks character is more of our heroine. Gabriel mentions that this iteration of Andy is “introverted and insecure”, saying that in many ways, Chucky is Andy’s first friend. Gabriel goes on to say that his character has a “strong, emotional attachment” to Chucky, and that Chucky is almost like Andy’s child, which is something he must deal with later in the film. Talk about a child only a parent could love. Tyler hints further that this Child’s Play focuses heavily on kids as the main characters, revealing that there’s not only Andy, but “a crew of kids…this fun element of other kids that live in the building”. So, a group of Goonies-esque kids versus a robotic super-Chucky? I’m game.
As for Aubrey Plaza’s character, she’s already been quoted as saying that this time around, Andy’s mother spends much of the film viewing him as responsible for what’s going on, highlighted in the clip shown during the panel, which depicts Karen (Aubrey) and Andy at a diner, where Andy is trying to tell her that someone they know is in danger; he saw Chucky following this person, and even has a recording of it. Karen appears tired, distant, and even a little suspicious of her son, refusing to believe him. This Karen is not the protective mother from the original, but one who seems exhausted by Andy. Aubrey jokes, “I’m just a mom that’s doing the best she can and unfortunately she gives her son a doll that’s trying to kill everyone”. Killer doll aside, it’s a role which feels personal to Aubrey, as she mentions that her mother was also young when she had her, and she can relate to the dynamic she shares with Andy in the script. This opens up possibilities for a much different storyline, as Andy will have to fend for himself all the way through, instead of having Karen backing him up.
Also unique to the story are Chucky’s capabilities. We already know from hints put out by the site that Chucky will have some fun attributes, such as being able to manipulate other voices, but Seth drops a bomb when he describes the fact that the company in the film that makes Chucky, Kaslan Corp, is a conglomerate company responsible for making all sorts of technology, and as Seth hints, all of that technology is “interconnected”. This could explain that scene we’ve seen glimpses of in the trailer, with a crowd of people that appear to be trapped in a store, where I now have to wonder: does Chucky somehow tap into a store full of Roombas and drones and set them to kill mode? We as fans can only hope for that Maximum Overdrive type of carnage in our Child’s Play films. Seth also drops the magic word in reference to said carnage, saying that the film does have its “gory” moments. Cue the gleeful grins.
Most exciting of all to hear though is the answer to a question that has been on all of our minds since the initial announcement of Child’s Play…how much CGI will be used with Chucky? Very little, according to Seth. “The idea of doing a full CGI Chucky performance was never discussed,” he says to a relieved crowd. He goes on, clarifying that they “wanted to do as much animatronic doll as possible. We didn’t want this to be CGI craptacular.” No, you’re not dreaming right now. He really said that. David mentions they had nine or ten dolls ready to go in their own trailers. Adds Lars, “it was a daunting task…but it was worth it”. Gabriel jokes that it was great having something physical to work with, except for that time the doll started rubbing his thigh. Another good reason we should never give our kids robots to play with… they might play back.
With Orion smartly keeping as much of Child’s Play as close to the vest as they can, it’s hard to say what we can expect from this reimagining of everyone’s favorite killer doll (one which the entire panel says could whoop Annabelle in a fight). But what is clear is that the cast/crew behind the film have a deep love for this franchise, and want to do something truly unique and special with it. Seth makes clear that if Child’s Play does well, they would love to make more. So, it’ll be up to fans to revisit their friend till the end once again on the big screen when Child’s Play slashes into theaters on June 21st.
