Rights issues can really make a mess of our favorite franchises. The FRIDAY THE 13TH franchise is currently on hold while the original film's director Sean S. Cunningham and writer Victor Miller take each other to court to determine which of them deserves to hold the rights to that series, and now split rights have led to the creation of dueling CHILD'S PLAY projects.
Here we were, just looking forward to the Child's Play TV series that's being developed by Don Mancini, writer of every film in the CHILD'S PLAY franchise (and director of a few of them). Then MGM dropped the announcement that they are fast tracking a remake of the original CHILD'S PLAY, one which will apparently center on
a group of kids (à la Stranger Things) and a technologically-advanced doll that enters their world.
Word is that the doll in the remake will still be called Chucky, and it will turn bad when something goes wrong with its A.I.
Although the CHILD'S PLAY franchise is still alive and well at Universal, the studio that has given us all of the sequels (sometimes through a subsidiary), it's still within MGM's rights to produce a remake of the first film, which they produced (through United Artists) and distributed.
Mancini was on a trip to Brazil when the news broke, but the folks over at Bloody-Disgusting managed to contact him and franchise producer David Kirschner to get some more information on the situation. The pair told them that MGM had offered to give them executive producer credits on the remake, but they declined. The remake does not have their blessing, as their focus remains on continuing the franchise with the TV series and more sequels at Universal.
If the remake is successful, does that mean we'll be seeing CHILD'S PLAY movies featuring a technologically advanced Chucky being released by MGM at the same time that Universal is releasing "Blank OF CHUCKY" movies featuring the old school version of the character? It seems possible… and if that's the case, Brad Dourif is staying loyal to Mancini, Kirschner, and the original Chucky. He will not be involved with the remake.
Set to be directed by Lars Klevberg from a screenplay by Tyler Burton Smith, with David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith producing, the CHILD'S PLAY remake is expected to start filming in a couple months.
Here's hoping that we'll be hearing good news about a Mancini Chucky project soon as well.