Very Chucky Christmas
CB: Since when was Chucky’s Christmas time something you wanted to do? It must have been there since Chucky’s seed or before.
McCullen: Oh yeah, I mean decades. We dipped our toe into it in the Chucky Seed. We did that little scene where Jason Fleming was, which was in the movie within the movie that Jennifer is making. I wanted to do that and that’s one of the great things about the transition to the TV format. We have all of these things at our disposal and they’re like, “Oh, we’re not in the movies right now. We’re in the TV series, but let’s aim for our climactic Christmas finale.” And it’s something I always enjoyed as a kid watching different programmes. So, that sounded fun, and there was nothing more thoughtful to do. But like I said, in terms of the drama, it was more about making the characters think they can relax and what idiots they are.
CB: Now, because of the way you leave things, you obviously have a lot of possibilities. There are still a lot of topics, but what are the next steps? Were you consciously setting up Season 3 or did you leave the franchise at a place where if you eventually came back, you’d have places to go?
DM: Well, here’s the thing about no guarantees…and we haven’t even gotten our car yet. Fingers crossed. But as you say, I mean, if we don’t get a pickup truck, I can continue the story on a movie.
The story of chucky season 3
CB: Yes
DM: And interestingly enough, we left things out because now these kids are much more, what’s the phrase, more advanced than ever in terms of what they need to do to deal with Chucky. Because now Caroline has left with Tiffany. Now, they confided in Miss Fairchild. So, it basically takes on those characters who have aged as children, but also as survivors of Chucky. And now, they’re more in Kyle and Andy’s category. They know the truth about Chucky. They should be more on the offensive now than in the future. I just thought this was a fun new place to bring them.
Chucky gore tv show
CB: I want to touch on the level of blood you can get rid of. Episode 7 Devon Sawa explodes, Episode 8 I cut a woman down the middle with a chainsaw. Is there a line? Or was that the line the studio was giving you?
DM: I started learning about how quickly that line moves in television when I first worked on Hannibal. I was often shocked. It’s like, “Oh, you could do that on network TV now? Oh, where have you been?” There is less of that. I think they are on board. They are on board with all this mess, God loves them. They have been incredibly supportive. So, I don’t think we haven’t done anything to offend them yet. So thank God.
CB: You didn’t get a call from Standards and Practice like, “Maybe less here.”
McCullen: No.
CB: That’s amazing.
McCullen: Really, that’s cool. That’s one of the great things about working with the people that we do on this project. UCP is our studio, and SYFY USA, our network, they’re all big fans of horror. I mean, that’s probably no surprise with a network called SYFY. But this is not always the case. I’ve definitely worked on some movies working with studio executives where it’s not really their type of movie, which isn’t to say they weren’t supportive of our movie, but it’s not a real thing. And one of the positives of getting older, I think, is that the network and studio are now run by people who grew up with Chucky. And they loved it. They are legit fans. So, I’m very fortunate in that regard because I think they’re, as I said, very supportive of our brand of chaos.
Chucky franchise length
CB: I know you just finished your second season finale, but did it really go on record with you that in the last two years with those two seasons, you’ve basically doubled the runtime of the entire franchise?
McCullen: Oh, I noticed. I feel it in every cell of my body. And I’m always, whether I’m in a situation like this, many Zoom meetings, interviews on set, I’m constantly looking at pictures of myself and seeing what’s been taken of me. I can see myself getting old with the characters. So, yeah, I feel like it. I’m aware of.
Emmy Award for Chucky
CB: I’m really not kidding when I ask you this. Would you guys consider giving Brad an Emmy for his voiceover work?
DM: Yes! he deserves it. he deserves it. It’s totally worth it.
CB: Chucky’s various replacements this season, it’s been a really amazing performance. I’d really like to see some kind of appreciation for Brad.
McCullen: I totally agree. And I think Jennifer deserves some kind of recognition, too. I guess you could say that Fiona does. One of the great things about the show, and I think one of the reasons for the success, is that we’re so lucky to have so many great actors. And a big thanks to our casting directors, Bonnie Zane and Tina Gerusi, for finding so many of them for us. So yeah, I’m very much into anyone’s Emmy campaign. anyone.
The original Glenn/Glinda returns to Chucky
CB: Let’s shift gears to one of the big surprises in the finale that will bring Billy Boyd back to the GG. I’d love to hear how your plans for Glen and Glenda from Seed of Chucky have evolved so far.
McCullen: Well in the writer’s room, what guided us was this idea that I’ve always wanted to do. I wanted to honor the trans experience and portray it through the metaphorical genre lens we have. And so, I knew it was in the broad strokes that the story I wanted to tell was that these two entities, they weren’t meant to be. They are only born as one entity. And the so-called divisions in their personality were to be embraced, not brushed aside. This is the story we tried to tell. And I knew I wanted to be sealed with both personalities, both sides of the coin, in one body. Because the characters of Glen and Glenda have been portrayed by Lachlan all season long.
When they part after the fourth episode, they lose each other as if they were apart. And they never really felt comfortable, Glenda told Tiffany, well, she thinks it’s Jennifer at that point. she does not know. They don’t know that their mother wasn’t actually Jennifer Tilly at that point, but they say, “We didn’t totally fall for it. Why?” And so, we wanted to make it whole again. Therefore, I wanted to return them to the same body. But I knew I had to evolve it because of the metaphor of the trans experience that it had to be a new evolution. One entity is now called GG. And I knew I wanted to hear the voice of Billy Boyd that character again. This just felt right. And so, it was fun finding a way to accommodate that. And I’m interested to know how it worked out for you as a viewer, because I thought it was funny and clever in the way Tiffany says, “Yeah, I do a recording of English speech. That accent you’re making is exaggerated.” And she says, “Look, that’s my accent. You might want to turn it back.” Then GG went, “What would Jennifer Tilly do?
Chucky woke up
CB: I want to step back a little bit from Season 1, very briefly, after Jake and Devon finally shared their kiss, was it crazy for you how many people were like, “Wake up Chucky. I can’t believe it.” This is crazy, isn’t it?
DM: I mean, I’m used to it. I will always get this kind of thing. I mean, if Chucky is awake, he’s been awake for a long time, because his creator is gay. And we’ve put LGBTQ stuff in the franchise for a very long time now. So, I just roll my eyes at it. For me, it’s not that he woke up, I just think it’s funny. To me, it’s funny when Chucky says, “Of course I don’t have a problem with my gay kid. I know.” In addition to being, I think it’s a good, good message to basically spread in the world, I think it’s funny that Chucky would say that.
Chucky Cross finally happens
CB: I know in the past, you and I have talked about it before, does everyone always want a crossover. They want Chucky to cross paths with something. But has anyone approached you regarding this possibility? Was Jason Blum like, “Chucky meets M3GAN?”
DM: Well, I think M3GAN is pretty new. I think she would want to see how M3GAN would do on her own as the new kid on the block, as it were. It seems to me that M3GAN is poised to make a paradigm shift. I haven’t seen the movie. All you’ve seen is what other people have seen and that’s a lot of fun. I will not oppose it. You’ve likely read or heard about my always wanting to do a Freddie vs. Chucky crossover. I think this would be really fun. But now that we’ve got it working so well in this different medium at Universal, there are other Universal-owned monsters that could theoretically be at our disposal. So, that’s something we’re talking about. I will put it this way.
CB: Alright. Good to hear.
DM: I won’t say much about it, but stay tuned. It’s definitely my interest, too.
The Chucky Movie franchise within the Chucky Film franchise
CB: If I may leave you with another quick, quick question, which is, this season, you established Bride of Chucky as a movie in your world.
McCullin: No, you’ve reiterated that Chucky goes psycho-
CB: But Jake and Devon are talking about Bride of Chucky, which is a movie starring Jennifer Tilly.
McCullen: Well, let’s relive the dialogue, exactly.
CB: Alright.
DM: They’re talking about the doll, and Devon says “She looks like Bride of Chucky. Remember that movie?” But he doesn’t say, “Remember that movie called Bride of Chucky?” What they say is in their mirror universe, in Chucky Goes Psycho. Jennifer Tilly played Chucky’s bride. We just know that Jennifer Tilly is really different.
CB: But that brings me to my bigger question, what does the Chucky movie franchise look like in this universe? Is it just Chucky going psycho? Or are there others?
McCullen: It’s just Chucky going psycho in this world. This is the biggest horror of all. Imagine a universe where there is only one Chucky movie. This terrible.
CB: And they probably couldn’t finish it because of everything going on at Seed of Chucky.
DM: Apparently, they’re done with it because that’s the reference. Remember in episode four, Meg Tilly says, “Ever since I did the stupid Chucky movie, I’ve been weird.” And Tiffany says, “No, it wasn’t stupid. It was a huge hit.”
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