The second trailer for the Child's Play remake offers the first taste of Mark Hamill as the film's killer doll. Announced in 2018, the reboot is arriving at a curious moment in the slasher franchise's history. Creator Don Mancini, who's been primarily responsible for keeping the series going since the late '90s, is still working on the property, and is actively developing a Chucky TV series for Syfy. He's not exactly thrilled about MGM and Orion Pictures' attempt to relaunch the brand, either, and declined a producer credit on the remake when offered.
Regardless, the Child's Play remake is gearing up to hit theaters this June, with Lars Klevberg (Polaroid) directing from a screenplay by Tyler Burton Smith (Quantum Break), and Aubrey Plaza and Brian Tyree Henry playing leading roles. The initial trailer offered a quick glimpse at both actors in the movie, along with the re-imagined version of Chucky - who, in this take on the property, is a malfunctioning digital-era kid's doll, as opposed to a plaything possessed by the soul of a wise-cracking serial killer. Hamill confirmed he's voicing the character in March, and now we know what he sounds like in the role.
Related: Child's Play: First Look Image of the Chucky Doll Released
Orion Pictures dropped the new Child's Play trailer online today, and is expected to attach the preview to The Curse of La Llorona in theaters this weekend. You can check it out in the space below, followed by the film's new poster.
In truth, the Child's Play trailer only offers a snippet of Hamill's performance in the remake, but it's enough to confirm that his voice as Chucky is higher-pitched and more child-like that Brad Dourif's raspier vocals as the character in the original film and its sequels. It makes sense though; as mentioned earlier, Chucky's meant to be a technically advanced doll in the reboot, as opposed to a deranged murderer trapped in a children's toy. The full-length trailer further explains how that sci-fi element comes into play here, revealing that Chucky's able to control electronic items around him as part of his murder spree (when he's not just killing people the old-fashioned way with a kitchen knife, anyway). As a result, the remake comes off feeling like a cautionary tale about the dark side of technology, a la Klevberg's debut on Polaroid.
It'll certainly be interesting to see how longtime fans take to the new Child's Play and its re-imagining of the series' core premise. While Mancini's Chucky sequels gradually moved into horror-comedy territory, the original Child's Play was a pretty straight-faced slasher film, and it seems that the remake is going for a similar vibe. At the same time, it's hard to imagine that Hamill especially won't lean into the inherent campiness of the Chucky character a little with his performance, making the overall movie feel a bit more tongue in cheek for it. Either way, if the new Child's Play fails to catch on, then at least fans can take comfort in knowing that they still have Mancini's Chucky TV show to look forward to.
Source: Orion Pictures
