Convention - Wondercon 2019 : Child’s play, Mark Hamill is the new Chucky’s voice

By Mulder, 30 march 2019

“We feel incredibly lucky to have an icon creating a new take on an iconic character, .. Mark is a gifted actor and celebrated vocal performer, and he’s approached this challenge with incredible energy and commitment.” - David Katzenberg

Child's Play is an American slasher film written by Tyler Burton Smith and directed by Lars Klevberg. It is the eighth installment in the Child's Play franchise and serves as a reboot of the 1988 film of the same name, following a plot similar to the original film. It stars Aubrey Plaza, Gabriel Bateman, Brian Tyree Henry, Tim Matheson, and Mark Hamill as the voice of Chucky.

The film was officially announced in July 2018, a modern version of Child's Play that was in development at MGM without the involvement of franchise creator Don Mancini or Brad Dourif. Lars Klevberg and writer Tyler Burton Smith signed on as director and screenwriter, respectively, alongside It producers Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg. Principal photography began on the film on September 21, 2018, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The film is scheduled to be released in the United States on June 21, 2019, by Orion Pictures.

Orion Pictures announced today during Wondercon that Mark Hamill (Star Wars, Knightfall) has been cast as the voice of Chucky in Child’s play. The legendary actor stars alongside Aubrey Plaza, Gabriel Bateman and Brian Tyree Henry in a contemporary re-imagining of the 1988 horror classic that follows Karen (Plaza), a single mother who gifts her son Andy (Bateman) a Buddi doll, unaware of its more sinister nature.

Rising filmmaker Lars Klevberg (Polaroid) directs from a script by Tyler Burton Smith (Sleeping Dogs, Quantum Break video games) based on the original motion picture. David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith produce under their KatzSmith Productions banner (It). Aaron Schmidt and Chris Ferguson executive produced the project.

Hamill is known for portraying one of the most iconic characters in film, Luke Skywalker in George Lucas’ original “Star Wars” trilogy. Audiences can currently watch Hamill in the second season of History’s Knightfall and he will appear in Disney’s Star Wars: Episode IX which will be released this December. Hamill is a prolific voice-over actor and has lent his voice as the ‘Joker’ in Batman: The Animated Series, the Arkham Aslyum video game series, and the animated films, The Killing Joke and “Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. In addition, Hamill voiced many characters in Cartoon Networks beloved “Regular Show.” Hamill also appeared on stage in The Elephant Man, Amadeus (First National Tour directed by Sir Peter Hall), the Drama Desk Nominated Harrigan n' Hart, The Nerd, Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks and the Roundabout Theatre production of Room Service, directed by Alan Arkin.

Child’s Play, the 1988 film, grossed over $44 million worldwide on a $9 million budget and spawned one of the most recognizable and successful horror characters of all time with its psychotic killer doll, Chucky. Orion Pictures will release CHILD’S PLAY through their United Artists Releasing banner on June 21, 2019.

Synopsis :
The story follows a mother named Karen (Aubrey Plaza) who gives her son Andy (Gabriel Bateman) a toy doll, Chucky (Mark Hamill), though both aren't aware of its evil nature

Child’s play
Directed by Lars Klevberg
Produced by David Katzenberg, Seth Grahame-Smith
Screenplay by Tyler Burton Smith
Based on Child's Play by Don Mancini
Starring : Aubrey Plaza, Gabriel Bateman, Brian Tyree Henry, Tim Matheson, Mark Hamill (Chucky’s voice)
Cinematography : Brendan Uegama
Edited by Tom Elkins
Production company : Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Orion Pictures, KatzSmith Productions
Distributed by United Artists Releasing
Release date : June 21, 2019 (United States)

Photos : Copyright Orion Pictures

(Sources: Wikipedia, press release)