New Child’s Play Poster Puts Toy Story’s Buzz Lightyear in Its Crosshairs

Since the first Child’s Play landed in theaters back in 1988, the series hasn’t been afraid to lean into the more humorous elements of the narrative. With the original series focusing on a killer who uses a voodoo ritual to transfer his spirit into that of a toy doll to continue his reign of terror, and with the upcoming reboot depicting the horrors of artificial intelligence gone wrong, there’s an inherent absurdity to a pint-sized toy wreaking all manner of havoc. With the new film hitting theaters the same day as Toy Story 4, the horror film’s posters have regularly poked fun at the Pixar franchise, with Buzz Lightyear being the latest victim of Chucky.

While the above poster had to make some slight tweaks to Buzz Lightyear’s design, there are clear similarities that hints to audiences that no one, or no toy, is safe when the new Chucky is around. This is only the latest poster for the film to taunt Toy Story 4, with previous posters including nods to what would happen if Chucky crossed paths with Woody or Slinky Dog.

Child’s Play follows a mother (Aubrey Plaza) who gives her son (Mike and Gabriel Bateman) a toy doll for his birthday, unaware of its more sinister nature. The film was directed by Lars Klevberg.

The original film earned six sequels, the most recent of which, Cult of Chucky, debuted in 2017. Writer of all seven films Don Mancini will continue that film’s narrative in a TV series, though Plaza previously teased that this reboot has captured the spirit of the original installment.

“I love it so much,” Plaza revealed to The Hollywood Reporter about the reboot. “To me, the original is an iconic movie. I haven’t seen our film, just the trailer, but it’s a real throwback horror movie. It’s almost got a Spielbergian vibe to it. The reason I did it was for how beautiful the script was. It doesn’t feel like a hokey, shticky, campy movie. If you remember the original Child’s Play, it was a drama! It wasn’t that funny. As the franchise went on, it became something else. The remake really captures the original.”

The actress also noted that, while the original film was more of a slasher, depicting a killer running rampant, the new film will be more psychological in nature.

“I play Karen, the mother, and I have less interaction with Chucky than the actor who plays my son does. I can’t reveal too much,” Plaza admitted. “We’re not supposed to talk about Chucky. It builds for Karen in a way that I’m interacting with Chucky by the end, but I’m mostly dealing with my son — who I almost believe is behind the mayhem. The horror of it all will be for the audience. For me, it’s more of a psychological thriller.”

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

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