Child’s Play Creator Reveals Television Series Follows A Gay Lead Character
It’s not too early to talk about Halloween yet, right?! Think about it: In about two months, we’ll be rummaging to find our best costume post-pandemic to celebrate the spookiest holiday that allows our freak flag to fly with no excuses. Many of us still have a void from last year’s cancellation, but with venues opening around the globe, you can bet that Halloween 2021 is going to be the biggest spectacle that we’ve ever seen! Creativity is about to be unleashed and we’re in for one hell of a ride. In the meantime, those who make our favorite horror cinema and television keep their holiday spirit throughout the year and hardly ever disappoint their fanbase when their next big project is revealed. Of course, as we’ve previously noted, there are a handful of exceptionally talented gay men who have created our favorite horror icons. Clive Barker is back bringing us to literal hell with a Hellraiser reboot, Christopher Landon has been keeping the seat warm with hits like Freaky and Happy Death Day, and now we can look forward to the return of our favorite killer doll (voiced by original actor, Brad Dourif) thanks to Child’s Play creator Don Mancini.
This October Mancini is bringing Chucky to the small screen with an episodic series, aptly titled Chucky, that is canon to his original cinematic universe – AKA not the recent 2019 reboot he wasn’t a part of. If you’re an avid fan of the Child’s Play franchise, you can see glimmers of LGBTQ+ themes, perhaps largely in part due to Mancini’s sexuality so he was able to sneak in some references when then-Hollywood didn’t want to support the community too often. In the thirty year franchise, we’ve seen Katherine Heigl’s gay friend get slaughtered, Christine Elise simply existing as a badass character, a bizarre-you-have-to-have-seen-it-to-understand “lesbian” relationship between Tiffany Valentine (Jennifer Tilly) and Nica Pierce (Fiona Dourif), an unfaithful wife and her lesbian lover in Curse of Chucky, and the too-early-for-audiences-to-comprehend themes of the fifth installment, Seed of Chucky, that tackles gender issues – and is much better upon a rewatch in modern times. Fans are stoked to see Mancini carrying on Chucky’s murderous legacy – and that he’s diving further into the franchises’ LGBTQ storylines.
How 'Seed of Chucky' Explores Non-Binary Identities https://t.co/6XLBYyNG5x
— Don Mancini (@RealDonMancini) July 31, 2021
According to Screenrant, Chucky will center around a bullied teen (Zachary Arthur) who is struggling with his sexuality and eventually finds the killer doll at a local yard sale. Afterwards, as you likely guessed, townsfolk start being picked off one by one and horror ensues. Yeah, it’s likely those bullies are wishing he chose a Barbie instead of this redhead “Good Guy”. The main character’s sexuality will be explored throughout the ten-episode series and how it can affect a teenager’s day-to-day life. Teenage-quasi-romance will be afloat with a love interest (Bjorgvin Arnarson) to boot. Which is great! This won’t be a one-off, throwaway line in say, like a Disney movie, about someone’s sexuality. Although, cue some nervous laughter, because we can’t say we’d guarantee a happy ending if Chucky has anything to do with it.
Along with probably our new favorite gay characters, Tilly, the Dourifs, Elise, and the original unlucky kid, Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent), are all returning for what could be Chucky’s final act. Could we maybe get treated to a cameo by Andy’s original on-screen mom, Catherine Hicks?! Fingers crossed – she hasn’t done much since 7th Heaven!
Representation, visibility, pride. 🏳️🌈 https://t.co/pAnjX6H0G4
— Don Mancini (@RealDonMancini) July 30, 2021
It’s clear Mancini is thrilled about seeing more LGBTQ themes not only in his legacy, but horror in general. He recently retweeted a story on this same topic, along with some behind-the-scene photos, so it’s easy to bet that we should expect some devilish wisecracks from the doll himself and one heck of an interesting take in the Child’s Play universe. Chucky is set to premiere on the SyFy and USA networks SO soon on October 13th. Who will you be watching with?
Writer’s Note A: This is the opinion of one Instinct Magazine contributor and does not reflect the views of Instinct Magazine itself or fellow contributors.
Source: Screenrant
Uh, I don’t think we need a psychotic gay puppet running around and chopping off people’s cock’s.
I love that there is several movies / tv shows with gay leads and gay centered.
Uh, they are not flattering roles and it is usually a straighty playing a gay character. Straightys fuck up everything.