The Child's Play franchise is entering a weird phase. In one corner, there's a Child's Play TV series in development that will be a continuation of the original film series, and will have Brad Dourif reprising Chucky Ray and franchise creator Don Mancini involved. In the other corner, a Child's Play theatrical reboot is in the works over at MGM that is a complete re-imagining of the property. It will be a long time before we get to see how this reboot compares to the first Child's Play movie, but word's come in that Liv Tyler is being eyed for one of the lead roles.
Supposedly MGM is interested in bringing Liv Tyler aboard, and while nothing is set in stone yet, That Hashtag Show reports that if the actress signs on, she would play Karen, the mother of Andy, the boy who receives the Chucky doll as a gift. It's possible that those names will be changed for the Child's Play reboot, but either way, you can expect the mother to be one of the movie's important characters. So far all that's been revealed about the Child's Play reboot is that Polaroid director Lars Klevberg, Kung Fury's Tyler Burton Smith is writing the script, and IT producers David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith are attached to produce, while Aaron Schmidt is attached as executive producer.
Liv Tyler has plenty of film credits to her name, from the Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Incredible Hulk to Empire Records and Armageddon. She most recently appeared on the big screen in Wilding, but in recent years she's primarily been acting in the television realm, having starred as Meg Abbot in the HBO series The Leftovers and currently starring as Lady Isabella Fitzwilliam in the Hulu series Harlots. Assuming she is cast in the Child's Play reboot, this will be a good way for Tyler to expand her horror cred.
Official plot details about the Child's Play reboot haven't been disclosed to the public, but supposedly this version of the tale will be contemporary and focus on a group of kids (Stranger Things-style) and a technologically-advanced doll that "enters their world." The original Chucky doll was most certainly dangerous (hence why he's been the star of seven movies), but assuming this information about the reboot is correct, then it sounds like new Chucky could be even more lethal than his predecessor. Although 1988's Child's Play rested comfortably in the horror genre, with each subsequent movie, the film series became more comical. It's unclear what kind of tone the reboot will strike, but I'm guessing it will be a more straightforward horror movie with some dark comedy elements mixed in.
The Child's Play reboot doesn't have an assigned release date yet, but production is reportedly beginning in September, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates on the movie as they come in. For now, check out our 2018 release schedule to find out what movies hit the silver screen later this year.
