Child’s Play Syfy TV Series Reveals Working Title, Details

While the Child’s Play film franchise recently proved that it still has interesting ideas in the tank with the October 2017 release of Cult of Chucky, a modernized reinvention of the classic death-dealing doll franchise is afoot. Indeed, we are set for a multiple medium explosion, notably with a Child’s Play reboot movie imminently approaching. However, plans were recently confirmed that will preserve the original film continuity in a Syfy television series. – That’s right, folks, we’re bracing ourselves for a Chucky Multiverse!

Syfy has set Nick Antosca, the creator of its horror anthology series, Channel Zero, to develop the canonical continuation series alongside original creator Don Mancini. It won’t be the first time that the two have collaborated, since Mancini was brought onboard Antosca’s series as a writer. In the latest news, Antosca dropped some interesting details on the Child’s Play TV series in an interview with Slashfilm.

First and foremost, Antosca is teasing the simplified working title, Chucky. As he explains:

“The working title is Chucky. That could change, but that’s the working title.”

The reason for the prospective TV series title is rather simple, the name of the doll-inhabiting homicidal spirit, Chucky (a.k.a. Charles Lee Ray), quickly became more synonymous with the 1988-launched Child’s Play film franchise than its actual name (though, the same could be said with just about every classic slasher franchise). Thus, with a reboot movie coming soon that bears the franchise’s formal title, the Syfy series could differentiate itself with the Chucky title; a synecdoche that, frankly, is more marketable.

Antosca also reaffirms that the new series will maintain the feel and verisimilitude of the original movie continuity, explaining:

“It’s consistent with that mythology, but it’s a whole new story. So, you could come into it without knowing anything about the previous stuff and get into it. But it is consistent with all the mythology that has come before, so it is in canon.”

He also teases appearances from other characters we’ve met throughout the films, though it appears that new characters will be prominent. Indeed, characters such as Jennifer Tilly, both as Tiffany and herself, as well as (Chucky actor Brad Dourif’s daughter,) Fiona Dourif’s Cult of Chucky character Nica Pierce, even the original film’s doll-owning child protagonist, Alex Vincent’s Andy Barclay – who returned for some of the Child’s Play sequels, including the most recent – could be in the mix to appear on the series. As Antosca teases with a bit of a caveat:

“They might pop in eventually, but it’s new characters. I don’t want to say anything definitive. I want to leave that to Don, but let’s just say that there might be opportunities in the story for Jennifer or Fiona to make an appearance. Of course, the plan is for Brad to be the voice.”

We’ll keep you updated on Syfy’s Child’s Play TV series as things develop!

Joseph Baxter is a contributor for Den of Geek and Syfy Wire. You can find his work here. Follow him on Twitter @josbaxter.