Plainly speaking, it’s difficult to get excited about a Child’s Play reboot that doesn’t include Brad Dourif, Jennifer Tilly, or series creator Don Mancini (who has been very vocally against the upcoming movie, particularly considering he’s working on his own T.V. spinoff).
Appearing on the Flickering Myth podcast towards the end of last year, Mancini had some choice words for the so-called reboot and those behind it. He admitted to feeling hurt, particularly considering Chucky is still in pretty good health (something most fans of the series would agree with also).
You know, I had just done two movies…forgive me if I sound defensive, [they] were both at 83 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Even though they didn’t get theatrical releases, they were well regarded. And I did create the character and nurture the franchise for three f*****g decades
Mancini revealed he did not sign off on the new film, and moreover both he and producer David Kirschner refused to executive produce it themselves, when asked.
We have our ongoing thriving business with Chucky… The producers of that movie are the producers of It. How would they feel if there was some legal loophole that allowed David Kirschner and I to swoop in and make our own It movie with our own version of Pennywise and say, ‘Hey guys, we would love to put your names on it?’ I imagine they wouldn’t like it
Mancini went on to explain that it’s not about the money, but rather how personal Chucky is to him, and how Child’s Play 2019 might negatively affect his ability to revisit the killer doll on the big screen in future. Echoing his sentiments, the legendary Tilly, who features in the movies both as herself as well as voicing Chucky’s paramour Tiffany, took to Twitter to express her displeasure.
From Orion Pictures, Child’s Play 2019 is billed as a “contemporary re-imagining” of the original film, whatever the hell that means. It follows Aubrey Plaza’s single mother, who gifts her young son (played by Gabriel Bateman) a Buddi doll, which is basically an A.I. toy with murderous intentions. So, no voodoo, no serial killer soul, no Chucky essentially.
The flick is directed by Norwegian filmmaker Lars Klevberg (Polaroid) from a script by Tyler Burton Smith. Bryan Tyree Henry co-stars. Child’s Play 2019 boasts some heavy-hitter producers too, in the form of Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg, who produced the brilliant IT movie adaptation, the second part of which drops later this year.
Child’s Play 2019 hits theaters on June 21, 2019. Check out the behind-the-scenes featurette below, starring Henry, director Klevberg, and the incredibly ugly new Chucky doll.
