Devon Sawa has reportedly joined the cast of Chucky, the upcoming TV series that serves as a sequel to the Child’s Play movie franchise. Collider reports that Sawa has signed on for a “major role” in the new series, but full details haven’t been revealed about his character. The outlet also reports that Sawa will be joined by Zackary Arthur (Transparent), Teo Briones (Ratched), Bjorgvin Arnarson (PEN15), and Alyvia Alyn Lind (The Young and the Restless) as the four young leads.
Developed by Child’s Play creator Don Mancini and Channel Zero creator Nick Antosca, Chucky will bring back franchise veteran Brad Dourif as the voice of the titular killer doll. Jennifer Tilly is also expected to return as Tiffany Valentine, the role she played in four franchise movies starting with the 1998 classic Bride of Chucky. It’s expected that other fan favorites from the movies will be popping up in the TV show, but no other names have been confirmed at this time.
Per the official logline, the story picks up “after a vintage Chucky doll turns up at a suburban yard sale, an idyllic American town is thrown into chaos as a series of horrifying murders begin to expose the town’s hypocrisies and secrets. Meanwhile, the arrival of enemies and allies from Chucky’s past threatens to expose the truth behind the killings, as well as the demon doll’s untold origins as a seemingly ordinary child who somehow became this notorious monster.”
Though the Chucky series will connect to the original movie timeline that left off with Cult of Chucky, the show will also serve as a soft reboot of sorts by introducing a primarily new cast of characters. It will have no relation to the 2019 reboot movie with Mark Hamill voicing a new iteration of the character. Given its low budget, the movie was a financial success at the box office, but there are no concrete plans for a sequel to the Child’s Play reboot at this time.
Starting in 1988 with the original Child’s Play, the first Chucky would go on to appear in six movie sequels over the years, culminating with Cult of Chucky in 2017. That movie brought back several characters from previous installments, such as Alex Vincent as an older version of the little boy he played in the original. The sequel also left several loose ends that will hopefully be resolved in the upcoming TV series.
Last year, Syfy officially greenlit Chucky with a straight-to-series order. Mancini is on board to direct the first episode and write the pilot. At the time, it was reported that filming would begin in March 2021 with plans to wrap by mid-August. If all has gone according to schedule, cameras for the new horror series should start rolling very soon. Teasing the upcoming release, Syfy also released a teaser video revealing the official logo. Though we don’t get a clear look at Chucky, we can see the doll’s silhouette as he stands in a dark toy store brandishing a kitchen knife.
According to Syfy’s teaser, Chucky will be coming to Syfy and USA Network sometime in 2021. A release date has yet to be officially set. This news comes to us from Collider.