First look at the Child’s Play reboot gives us a more modern Chucky

Less disturbing, more creepy

MGM and Orion are rolling forward with much haste on their reboot of the Child’s Play franchise. Production started this week and with that, we have our first look at the new Chucky. He looks like Chucky, but a bit updated and less weird. The original Chucky doll always had a strangeness to it that made me think no one would ever actually buy it, but this one looks more like a doll someone would purchase. It also has the detail of a modern doll versus an ’80s Cabbage Patch Kid.

The reboot is contentious among fans as Chucky creator Don Mancini is not on board (he’s working on his own film in the series and a TV show thanks to the complex rights to the character). It’s also concerning because Lars Klevberg’s first horror feature, Polaroid, got shelved for two years and isn’t releasing until 2019. The studio must have some confidence in him, but we’ve got no idea what he can bring to a feature film since he’s only made shorts.

Cast-wise it’s got Aubrey Plaza as Karen, Brian Tyree Henry as Mike and Gabriel Bateman as Andy. The plot is said to ditch the whole trapped serial killer thing and go in a different direction, but it still involves a mom giving her son the really wrong doll. Most likely there will also be some stabbing with a knife.