Chucky, the upcoming Child’s Play TV series spinoff, will reveal serial killer Charles Lee Ray’s childhood origin story. The original film in the decades-old horror franchise was released in 1988 and since then, fans have been drawn to the series, which has transitioned from psychological horror to outright horror-comedy over the years. Though the last film in the franchise (not counting the 2019 reboot) arrived in 2017, creator Don Mancini has opted to venture into television with the concept in an effort to explore new ground.
After seven films and one reboot, it might seem as though there isn’t much more that’s left to explore in a franchise about a serial killer doll. But Mancini’s Chucky already sounds like it mixes familiar elements of the concept with a more modernized take. It’s also already been established that Chucky will focus on melding its storyline with incidents that took place within the first several films – long before Child’s Play became more focused on the rather absurd inclinations of a possessed doll and his relationship with other dolls of similar abilities. In fact, Chucky will mark the first time that the franchise has made a gay character its lead, as well as the first time that the narrative will focus on teenage characters.
With its link to the past already established well before the first episode of Chucky airs on October 12th, a new point of exploration in the series has been revealed courtesy of Bloody Disgusting. The TV series will shift its focus — for a short period, at least — to explain the childhood origin story of Child’s Play serial killer Charles Lee Ray, aka the Lakeshore Strangler. Ray was shot and killed by police in a toy store in the first Child’s Play film, but not before transferring his soul into the Good Guy doll known as Chucky through voodoo.
The new series has cast David Kohlsmith (Shazam!) as the young Ray, though as of this writing it’s not clear whether Ray’s origins as a serial killer will take place in a single episode or throughout the entire series. For fans of the franchise, insight into the man who ultimately became Chucky is sure to be a welcome feature of the new TV series. Ray’s backstory has previously been briefly explored in 2013’s Curse of Chucky, but with Chucky set to explore the serial killer’s childhood, the origin story is sure to have more depth.
When it was initially announced that Child’s Play was going to head to the small screen in a spinoff, the initial response from some was skeptical. However, as time has passed and more information has become known about Chucky, the series has begun to look as though it maintains the strong horror/psychological ties that kept the early films engaging. Without the campy, often ridiculous elements that some would argue later derailed the entire franchise, Chucky is looking increasingly intriguing as a TV series. Time will tell how it all actually plays out, of course, but for the time being, there seems to be much here to be excited about.
Source: Bloody Disgusting