Look, we get it that the current, creatively bankrupt state of Hollywood means that every single ‘80s and ‘90s property of any sliver of merit is going to receive an automatic remake. We’re aware of this. Making new franchises from the ground is hard work, and who wants to do that when you can just say “Hey, people still like Evil Dead right? Let’s make a new one!”
But Child’s Play? That’s no Friday the 13th, which returned in 2009 after not having a proper sequel since 2001’s Jason X. And it’s not 2013’s Evil Dead, which hadn’t had a film in its franchise since 1992’s Army of Darkness. And it’s not the upcoming Halloween, a series that also has had almost 10 years pass since the horror of the Rob Zombie remakes.
Let’s remind some folks: Child’s Play had its most recent sequel IN FREAKING 2017, folks. Cult of Chucky was directed by original series creator Don Mancini, starred the original voice of Chucky, Brad Dourif, featured returning cast members from throughout the series, and—get this—actually reviewed really well! And this movie came out less than a year ago. Which makes it all the more ridiculous that MGM just announced a brand new Child’s Play remake today—one that doesn’t seem as if it will have any connection to or contribution from the people who have produced seven films in the series so far. And it makes even less sense when one considers that there’s already supposed to be a Child’s Play TV series on the way; one that would star Dourif once again as the voice of Chucky. Why would they both exist at the same time?
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the remake of Child’s Play will be directed by Norwegian filmmaker Lars Klevberg, whose debut horror feature Polaroid, with a plot seemingly stolen directly from Say Cheese and Die of Goosebumps fame, hasn’t even been released yet. The film will be produced by David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith of It, with a script from Tyler Burton Smith, who recently wrote Kung Fury 2.
Only tangentially mentioned in the THR story is Mancini, who wrote every film in the series and directed the last three to date. Not mentioned a single time is Brad Dourif, the star of the series, who may or may not be even in the conversation to return as Chucky. And can we all agree that this would be a horror crime of heinous proportions? This isn’t Jason Voorhees, a character that had different actors in most entries in his series. This is Chucky, an animated killer doll whose entire character is completely framed around the performance of Dourif as serial killer Charles Lee Ray. To even contemplate doing a Child’s Play movie without the voice of Chucky would be monumentally boneheaded. We hope MGM is ready for a storm of angry horror geeks, if they try to announce a new voice for one of the most iconic slashers in film canon. It’ll be just as bad as when they tried to make a Nightmare on Elm Street remake without Robert Englund.
We’ll let you know when additional details on this ill-fated Child’s Play remake bubble to the surface.