Having worked on the screenplay for every movie in the Child’s Play series, Don Mancini’s is credited as the creator of Chucky. Beginning with Seed of Chucky, Mancini has been directing each new installment of the series as well, and the franchise is basically his baby. With plans to keep the story going in an upcoming TV series, Mancini recently spoke about his unhappiness with MGM remaking the original film on the Post Mortem podcast with Mick Garris.
“They asked [producer] David Kirschner and I if we wanted to be executive producers. We said no thank you, because we have our ongoing thriving business with Chucky. Obviously my feelings were hurt. Ya know, I had just done two movies… forgive me if I sound defensive, [they] were both at 83% on Rotten Tomatoes. Even though they didn’t get theatrical releases, they were well regarded. And I did create the character and nurture the franchise for three f–king decades.”
Mancini continued:
“The people who are making that movie, they don’t know how that’s going to affect my livelihood. It’s not just a paycheck. It’s very personal. MGM’s screwing with that… potentially.”
Mancini’s apprehension is understandable, given his personal connection to Chucky. However, it’s important to note that MGM is not blocking Mancini from pursuing the TV series. With no plans of Mancini’s Chucky returning to the big screen anytime soon, the two universes can co-exist, and the new film may actually generate some more interest for people to go back and check out all of Mancini’s movies.
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In any case, Mancini remains excited about his planned TV series. It will enable to him to touch on some of the various loose ends left by the series, such as what ever happened to Glen and Glenda from Seed of Chucky.
“So we’re gonna be able to explore different avenues, with different characters, that are among fan favorites. Ya know, a lot of times people will say, ‘I’d love to see… what’s Tiffany’s backstory? And what about Glen and Glenda?’ All these different avenues… now we have a way of exploring all of this. And that’s really exciting.”
Cult of Chucky ended with some of its own cliffhangers as well. Perhaps it’s best for this story to proceed as an ongoing series, allowing Mancini more time to explore the various characters in the series. For horror fans preferring a simpler story about an evil doll gone berzerk, they can check out the upcoming remake, which hits theaters on June 21, 2019.
And there’s nothing wrong with watching both.
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