Syfy has gained the series development rights to ‘Child’s Play’ aka ‘Chucky.’ Franchise creator Don Mancini will be writing and executive producing the series.
David Kirschner and Nick Ancosta will also executive produce, with Ancosta producing via his Eat the Cat banner. Universal Content Productions (UCP) will produce. Ancosta is currently under an overall deal at the studio.
Mancini had this to say on the project:
“I’ve long wanted to bring Chucky to television and Syfy is the perfect network for us. The show will be a fresh take on the franchise, allowing us to explore Chucky’s character with a depth that is uniquely afforded by the television series format, while staying true to the original vision that has terrorized audiences for over three decades now.”
Chucky debuted in 1988 in the film ‘Child’s Play,’ directed and co-written by Tom Holland, produced by Kirschner and based on a story by Mancini. The franchise spawned six sequels, all of which Mancini wrote and Kirschner produced. Mancini also directed three of the films.
Meanwhile, a reimagining of the first ‘Child’s Play’ is releasing June 21. The director of that film is Lars Klevberg (‘Polaroid’), with a script from Tyler Burton Smith (‘Kung Fury II’). That film is from MGM’s Orion Pictures, and has no involvement from Mancini. In fact, he is quite against the film’s existence. Either way, he will be getting his tv show.
Additionally, Syfy has ordered pilots for the shows ‘Cipher’ and ‘(Future) Cult Classic.’
The premise of ‘Cipher’ is below:
“Secret military technology is unexpectedly implanted in the brain of a 13-year-old video game junkie. The boy and his father then unwittingly find themselves at the center of the next great war over artificial intelligence.”
Moreover, Allison Miller will write and executive produce under her overall deal with UCP. David Gordon Green, Danny McBride, Jody Hill and Brandon James will also be executive producing. Peter Hoar will direct.
The premise of ‘(Future) Cult Classic’ is below:
“A dark comedy set 18 years in the future and centered on a group of teens whose community is rocked by a 1990s slasher-movie obsessed serial killer. Our heroes quickly realize they’re being targeted and decide to take matters into their own hands and track down the killer before time runs out.”
Further, Shay Hatten will write the project, with Tim Kirkby executive producing and directing the pilot.
Dawn Olmstead, the president of UCP, made a comment as well:
“It has been an inspiring process working with teams behind ‘Cipher’ and ‘(Future) Cult Classic.’ Allison Miller and Shay Hatten are rising stars who have created strong and diverse worlds that we are looking forward to bringing to life with our partners at Syfy.”
UCP are producing both shows and they will go into production later this year. ‘Child’s Play’ aka ‘Chucky’ will most likely go into production this year as well.
Source: Variety