CHILD’S PLAY
Killer doll Chucky is getting an upgrade in the Child’s Play reboot
The diabolical doll is back, now voiced by Mark Hamill!
released in 1988, Child’s Play beat Toy Story to the punch. But instead of sentient toys who keep their true nature secret from humanity, Chucky is a murderous doll possessed by the spirit of a serial killer. After six (increasingly outlandish) sequels, the series has finally gone down the reboot route and given Chucky a 21st century makeover.
This time it’s Aubrey Plaza’s Karen Barclay who gives her 13-year-old son Andrew (Gabriel Bateman) a Buddi doll named Chucky for his birthday. However, this contemporary Chucky isn’t brought to life by voodoo magic. Instead, he’s a hi-tech AI toy with a glitch in his programming, allowing him to control technology and wreak bloody havoc.
“I learned early on that there wasn’t any voodoo involved, that it was an AI concept,” director Lars Klevberg tells Red Alert. “It was interesting how we could tie that into Chucky’s arc and his transition throughout the movie.”
Like all good evil AIs, Chucky will adapt and evolve over the course of the film by taking in the world around him. “Chucky learns from us,” Klevberg explains. “He learns everything from the TV, the radio, and he imprints every visual image. Chucky’s learning curve is grounded in how he looks at his surroundings.”
puppet master
Chucky will be putting this knowledge to good use. “He’s capable of connecting to different products from the Kaslan Corporation, which allows us to be more creative in how he puts people down,” Klevberg adds. “We really wanted to stick within the horror and gore in this one. We’re not holding back.”
Brad Dourif has voiced Chucky since ’88, but the reboot required a fresh voice, albeit one the world is intimately familiar with – Mark Hamill, a casting coup that surprised Klevberg.
“Mark was the first one we wanted,” Klevberg recalls. “We wanted someone who was able to craft a character that you can connect to. I also knew his work as a voice actor, especially his take on the Joker. When we reached out to him, we didn’t expect it to lead to anything. But he jumped on it immediately.”
A phone call with Luke Skywalker followed. “He loved the story,” Klevberg chuckles. “Mark was super-excited to be a part of it. He watched all the Child’s Play movies back-to-back when he agreed to take on the part. He was superprofessional and really into it.”
Ever since Child’s Play (2019) was announced, fans of the franchise have proven unreceptive to a reinvention of their horror icon (who can blame them, look how freddy, Jason, Leatherface et al turned out). Klevberg admits it’s been an uphill struggle, but is confident that this version of Chucky will appeal to a new generation of moviegoers while satisfying the naysayers.
“We expected there to be a little backlash,” Klevberg admits. “Don Mancini is doing his television show through universal. Personally, I can’t think too much about it. My focus is on the movie. We wanted to pay homage to the original. I think a lot of the old fanbase is coming on board with our vision, which is really cool.
“It will be fun for older audiences to see you can still craft a great story with Chucky as a character, but in a modern time,” Klevberg adds. “That is really unique. I’m looking forward to showing that.” BC
Child’s Play is released on 21 June.