Latest in Child’s Play

John Lafia, who directed the horror film Child's Play 2 and co-wrote Child’s Play, died by suicide this week in Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s office. He was 63. Lafia’s family confirmed his passing Saturday in a statement to Deadline. “It is with great sadness we announce…

Spider-Man: Far From Home (which opens Tuesday) imports a newcomer to cinema’s ever-expanding superhero sector: Jake Gyllenhaal, the 38-year-old Oscar nominee who has a wildly eclectic body of work but has somehow managed to avoid the pervasive superhero genre until now and the release of Far From Home, his 38th…

4TH UPDATE FINAL Sunday AM writethru, following Saturday 7:35 AM update: The domestic opening for Disney’s Toy Story 4 is still lower than anticipated when this weekend started, going from $136M on Friday mid-day to $123.7M yesterday morning, to a Disney-reported $118M today. Industry estimates are spotting it at…

When it comes to the recent avalanche of lackluster summer sequels, i.e. Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Dark Phoenix and Men in Black: International, one film finance source snarked to us recently, "I don't think this current trend at the box office is 'sequelitis.' Perhaps with this latest string of misfires at the…

Vertigo Releasing has picked up UK and Ireland rights to Orion Pictures’ horror reboot Child’s Play. Mark Hamill stars as the voice of Chucky, along with Aubrey Plaza (Parks And Recreation), Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta) and Gabriel Bateman (Playmobil The Movie). Lars Klevberg directs from a script by Tyler Burton…

Hero Nation is the new hub for the best of Deadline’s sci-fi, horror, fantasy, superhero, and animation coverage. And the Hero Nation Index is a weekly round-up of news, rumors, tidbits, and happenings in the genres sector that is dominating Hollywood’s attention in an unprecedented fashion. Marvel-ous: The…

Chucky speaks! And yes, he sounds just like Mark Hamill. "Good night, Andy," says the murderous, knife-wielding devil doll at the end of this new trailer for Orion’s Child’s Play, the second trailer but the first featuring Hamill’s voice as Chucky. As with the first trailer, the new one makes good, twisted use of…

After decades as a heroic action figure, Mark Hamill is going to be Hollywood’s most demonic doll. The Star Wars stalwart who has portrayed Luke Skywalker in four feature films to date will provide the voice of the iconic horror character Chucky in the Orion Pictures revival of the Child’s Play franchise. Hamill joins…

Last year was the 30th anniversary of the original Child’s Play, which effectively melded the slasher terror of Halloween with the equally scary Cabbage Patch Dolls fad to deliver historic Hollywood horror results. This summer Chucky gets all dolled up again in a remake from Orion Pictures and KatzSmith Productions…

Orion Pictures has set June 21 as the release date for its relaunch of the horror franchise Child's Play. That’s the one with Chucky, the demented doll possessed with the soul of a serial killer. This sets up as counterprogramming to another doll franchise, as Disney opens Toy Story 4 the same day, and parents of…

Young actor Gabriel Bateman (Lights Out, American Gothic), Parks and Rec alum Aubrey Plaza, and Atlanta star Brian Tyree Henry are set to star in MGM’s Child’s Play remake for Orion Pictures. Bateman will take on the role as Andy, Plaza will play Andy’s mom Karen, and  Henry is Mike. Those characters originated in the…

The American horror/slasher series Child’s Play may be coming to television. Series creator Don Mancini sent out a Twitter gif tease today touting “Child’s Play: The TV Series,” admonishing, “Do not adjust your set.” The long-running Child’s Play film series (referred to as “Chucky,” the demonic doll who is the star…