Hidey fuckin’ ho! It’s almost time for Chucky Season 2!
After a massively successful first season (praised for its LGBTQ+ themes, storyline continuity, grisly death scenes, return of beloved characters and the introduction of new ones), Chucky Season 2 got the go-ahead late last year and we’ve been eagerly awaiting it ever since.
At a recent press junket, FANGORIA got to talk with the stars of the Chucky: Zackary Arthur (Jake Wheeler), Björgvin Arnarson (Devon Evons), Alyvia Lind (Lexy Cross) and Bella Higginbotham (newcomer Nadine). We also got to chat to Chucky and Child’s Play creator and all-round horror legend Don Mancini. Read on for our totally spoiler-free chat with the Chucky cast and crew where we got to learn about upcoming themes, character development and how you keep a guy like Brad Dourif on his toes after thirty-four years.
After Chucky laid waste to the town of Hackensack at the end of Season 1, our teen protagonists are shipped off to Lord Incarnate Catholic School, where they’re about to get more to stress about than just Bible study. We also saw that the devilish doll has now split his soul into SEVENTY TWO Good Guy dolls who are ready to wreak havoc across the country. Don shared that one of the reasons he decided to give us a truckful of Chucks was to give us as much Brad Dourif as possible, and that he “wanted to keep Brad on his toes and wanted him to go down different avenues”. Dourif, who has voiced Chucky since his 1988 debut, also confirmed the challenges Don threw at him in a recent interview with SyFy.
Don also teased that we will continue to see an evolution of the diminutive slasher’s personality, especially with the return of Glen/Glenda (both played by Lachlan Watson), who we’ve already seen brings out Chucky’s somewhat softer side. Don’t worry though, Season 2 promises plenty of classic Chucky brutality, as Don reminded us that “his intended goal of Season 2 is to get revenge” on everyone who wronged him in the first instalment – and that’s a LOT of people.
Chucky and the Child’s Play franchise is one of horror’s all time most iconic slasher sagas, but Season 1 also played homage to other legendary slashers like Halloween. Thrillers such as Cape Fear and Boxing Helena were also referenced both directly or indirectly (in the case of the grisly cliffhanger of Nica Pierce!) With the setting of Chucky S2 being the Lord Incarnate Catholic school, we wanted to know if Chucky was about to dabble in the genre of religious horror. Don confirmed our hopes by saying:
“You’ll see a lot of The Omen and The Exorcist which were the ones that made a big impression on me in the ‘70s. You’ll see a lot of influences from them in the new season.”
By the end of Season 1, Chucky had a whole new roster of playthings, the main of which being Jake Wheeler played by Zackary Arthur. Over the course of Season 1, Chucky tried to push Jake to join him on the dark side, leading to the season’s climactic theater scene in which Jake finally has enough and snaps: leading to a (one of many) deliciously violent Chucky death. We asked Zackary if Season 2 will see Jake deal with his repressed rage, or if he’ll lean further into that dark side, to which Zackary told us that:
“There’s some trauma and some guilt that Jake carries from the first season that influence some choices that he makes, and things he believes in. It’s going to be interesting to see how that affects his relationship with Devon and the rest of the friend group.”
And speaking of Jake and Devon’s relationship, Björgvin Arnarson shared a few hints about the future of #Jevon and some takeaway advice for fans who have loved seeing queer representation in the teens’ relationship: “Always try to work around your problems (with your loved one) – because in the end you’re gonna end up needing them.”
Season 1’s most impressive example of character development came from Alyvia Alyn Lind who plays Lexy. Over the course of Chucky S1, Lexy grows from a vicious yet troubled bully, and into a faithful and loyal friend. When asked what we can expect from Lexy as a character in S2, and how much she resonates with young fans, Alyvia hinted that “The amount of loyalty she has in the second season is something I would love kids my age to take away.”
Joining the gang in Season 2 is The Mighty Ducks’ Bella Higginbotham who plays Nadine, a new addition to the Chucky story and fellow student at Lord Incarnate. Chucky will be Bella’s first foray into the world of horror, a world that she has been welcomed into with open arms. According to Bella, Nadine “gets to bring light and life and happiness and goodness” to the second season, which juxtaposes nicely to the darker tone that Chucky S2 promises.
Chucky Season 2 will return on October 5th on Syfy and USA. Brad Dourif will of course reprise his role as the tiny terror, with Jennifer Tilly, Fiona Dourif and Devon Sawa also returning (although Devon will be taking on a new role for the new season)
Will Jevon survive under the strict watchful eye of Lord Incarnate school? Where is that truckful of Chuckys headed? Will Tiffany continue on her warpath of revenge and unrequited love? Whatever happens, we have Zackary’s guarantee that “this season is CRAZY” – and Zackary, we don’t doubt you for a second.
Get yourself pumped for Season 2 by watching the trailer here!
