‘Child’s Play’ Creator Shares Throwback Photo to Celebrate 30th Anniversary

Child’s Play landed in theaters 30 years ago today and is arguably as well-known as ever, having earned seven feature films so far. Don Mancini, who has written all films in the series and directed the last three, shared a throwback image to honor the anniversary.

The image depicts the headstone of Charles Lee Ray, claiming he died on November 9, 1988, which was also the day the film hit theaters.

In the film, Ray (Brad Dourif) is a murderer who meets his end in a fatal shootout, but not before he can perform a voodoo ritual that transfers his spirit into the body of a pint-sized Good Guy doll. When a young boy is gifted the doll, the murderous “Chucky” comes to life to continue his reign of terror while searching for a more appropriate host to inhabit.

Debuting at the end of the ’80s, which was dominated by slasher villains like Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees, Chucky delivered audiences one of the more absurd and entertaining slasher icons. While the character might not have been as physically intimidating as slasher counterparts, what made him so endearing was his crude sense of humor. Mancini and Dourif made a successful duo, with each being integral components of all films in the franchise, in addition to producer David Kirschner.

Earlier this month, Mancini looked back on the iconic franchise and detailed how the killer originally had a much different motivation.

“In the original premise, Chucky — or Buddy as he was called then — was not possessed by a serial killer. Instead, in my script, the supernatural inciting incident was different,” writer Don Mancini shared with The Hollywood Reporter. “The way that the doll came to life was that because Andy is a lonely kid — no dad around, his mom is a busy working mother — in that classic rite of brotherhood he cuts his own thumb and the doll’s thumb so they’ll be best friends forever —‘friends ’til the end’ — and after that the murders start.”

The writer added, “In the [original] Blood Buddy script, Chucky only comes alive when Andy’s asleep. The way the rules were, we gradually come to understand that because Chucky is the embodiment of Andy’s unconscious he decides if he kills the kid then Andy will be asleep forever and he’ll be alive forever.”

A reboot of the film is currently being developed, without Mancini, Kirschner, or Dourif, who are instead focusing on developing a Child’s Play TV series.

What do you think about the Child’s Play franchise? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!

[H/T Twitter, RealDonMancini]