'Child's Play' Reboot Producer Teases What Makes It Different From the Original

The original Child's Play carved its way into horror fans' hearts back in 1988, delivering audiences an iconic killer in the pint-sized Good Guy doll that referred to himself as "Chucky." The film was such a success that it earned itself six sequels, in addition to a TV series also being developed by the series' original writer, Don Mancini. Hitting theaters this summer is a reboot of the series which will deliver viewers some familiar elements from the franchise while making distinct tweaks to serve as a reimagining of the concept. Producer Seth Grahame-Smith recently opened up about the new directions this reboot will be taking.

"We sort of lean into more of the AI/Kaslan story and hint at a Chucky that is driven by something different than he is in the original series, when he's Charles Lee Ray and he's just a truly psychopathic killer in the body of a doll," Grahame-Smith shared with CinemaBlend. "[Also, there is] the mother/son story, the emotional component of the movie, which I feel like the movie really delivers. And then above all that, just the intensity, the gore, the fact that the movie is rated R, that it really does go there when it goes there. I think the movie looks big, is much bigger than a lot of movies that are our size - very affordable movie, we are. But we had big ambitions. Those are, I'd say, the primary things we're going for."

The original narrative depicted the murderer Charles Lee Ray suffering fatal injuries from police, who then used a voodoo ritual to insert his soul into that of a Good Guy doll, allowing him to continue causing chaos. The new film will tap into our society's current reliance on technology in our daily lives.

"You're getting at the heart of, I think, what a lot of people are inherently skeeved out about AI," the producer posited. "Does it have its own agency, or is it just a series of processes and commands and executions? The truthful answer is by the time the movie's over, I don't know. I think at the beginning of the movie, you'll see sort of briefly why this particular doll is the way that he is, and it's not every one of these dolls, right? So why is our Chucky special. And then it's going at that inherent need to make his child happy no matter what, right? To bond with him, to be with him."

He continued, "It starts out like you saw in the clip, very sweet. It's two characters in Chucky and in Andy that both in their own ways at that point in the movie been rejected. Andy is certainly in need of a friend, and finds one in Chucky. So that's the reason we showed you that clip, because we wanted to sort of lean into that this is a relationship that is genuine that goes off the rails in a big way. It's not just brooding, and it's not sinister from the jump. It gets there, for sure, but that I think just gets to the heart of what we're trying to do here, and why we felt like there was a why and a cultural relevance to doing a different version of this classic series."

The new Child's Play lands in theaters on June 21st.

Are you looking forward to checking out the new movie? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!

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