Orion and director Lars Klevberg scored big time when they landed Mark Hamill as the voice of Chucky in their Child’s Play, which will be the first official project that doesn’t feature Brad Dourif as the voice of the iconic killer doll. Hamill has big shoes to fill, that goes without saying, but he’s also a guy who knows a thing or two about voicing iconic villains.
At a press conference this week, Hamill explained why he wanted to try his hand at Chucky.
“I got a letter from Lars. He already laid out his vision for the film, before I read it. And then they sent me this script and I thought the crucial element that was different from the original, which I love — I’m a huge fan of Brad’s interpretation — Chucky has a different origin. So it’s not the soul of a serial killer, but someone deliberately goes in and alters his operating system and takes off the safety measures,” Hamill explained at the event, transcribed by Den of Geek.
Hamill continued, “When I agreed to it, and it sunk in that they wanted me to do this, I felt intimidation like I hadn’t felt since I did the Joker. I thought, when I auditioned for the Joker, there’s no way they’re going to cast this icon of virtue, Luke Skywalker, as the Joker. Forget about it. So I had no performance anxiety because I knew they couldn’t hire me. It’s only when they hired me that I really thought, ‘Oh no, I can’t do this because so many people have expectations of what he’s supposed to sound like.’ I didn’t feel that kind of intimidation until it sunk in that I was doing this. I love Brad. It’s a great responsibility, so I’m anxious to see how people react because it’s not the Chucky that we all know from before.”
Child’s Play slashes its way to theaters on June 21, 2019.
