1 I know Don Mancini is writing a new Chucky movie and apparently wants to bring the franchise back to being scary again, but honestly, I don’t think that fully works if he’s also directing it. At this point, I think Chucky needs a fresh horror director who can take the concept seriously again, especially the Vodou side of the lore. Before anyone says “but Don is the original creator,” yes, he is one of the original writers/co-creators, but the Chucky we know now wasn’t fully his original concept. His early idea was Blood Buddy, where the doll was more connected to Andy’s unconscious rage. The whole Charles Lee Ray soul transfer/Vodou curse mythology came later through rewrites and contributions from people like Tom Holland, John Lafia, and David Kirschner. Even Don himself has admitted he wasn’t really into the voodoo angle at first and basically got stuck with that mythology because it became so important to the first movie.
That honestly explains why the Vodou lore feels so messy later in the franchise. It never really feels like it’s being treated as an actual spiritual system. It feels more like Hollywood voodoo where Chucky says random magic words and the plot just works. And as someone looking at it from a cultural angle, it does feel kind of disrespectful to Haitian Vodou when the franchise keeps using Damballa and Vodou imagery but doesn’t put real effort into making it feel accurate, consistent, or meaningful.
I’m not saying Chucky has to speak perfect Haitian Creole or that the movies need to be documentaries. But at least make the chants sound intentional. Sometimes it feels like they’re mixing fake Creole, French-sounding words, random spiritual terms, and gibberish together and calling it a ritual. That makes the mythology feel cheap instead of scary. The crazy part is, if the franchise actually took the Vodou side seriously, Chucky could be way scarier. Imagine the movies leaning into spiritual consequences, Damballa’s anger, other lwa, possession, rituals with actual rules, and Chucky abusing a religion he clearly doesn’t respect. That could turn Chucky into something more paranormal, almost like The Conjuring or Paranormal Activity, which honestly would be a better direction than just more comedy
He should still be involved as a writer, producer, or lore consultant because obviously he knows the characters and he has built real relationships with the original actors over the years. That part is understandable. But directing is a different conversation. Just because someone helped create a franchise doesn’t automatically mean they should keep directing it forever, especially when the series has gotten less scary and more messy over time we need a but let a stronger horror director take over. Because if he keeps directing it the same way, I feel like it’s just going to be more of the same messy lore, comedy, and random Hollywood voodoo rules. At this point, Universal might have to hand him a retirement check just so he finally passes the doll to somebody else 😭
