Marketing! Who can tell what is good or bad anymore, truly. Is it a good idea to reveal Sonic the Hedgehog has horrific baby human teeth to the sound of Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise"? Is it ethical to shoot and show false footage to maintain the secrets of Avengers: Endgame? Should Disney have maybe finished the VFX on Will Smith before releasing an Aladdin trailer? These are all questions bouncing around my head as I ponder whether to love or loathe the new poster for MGM's Child's Play reboot, which cheekily plays with the film's shared-release date with Toy Story 4 by having Chucky the murder doll brutally kill beloved children's film character, Woody.

My goodness, the shade of it all, especially from a film that's already battling shady expectations to begin with. This new Child's Play will be the first in the franchise not to feature Brad Dourif as the voice of Chucky or Don Mancini providing the script. (Mancini is currently developing an unrelated Child's Play TV series.) Mark Hamill will be voicing the iconic homicidal this time around, which is an admittedly fantastic choice. Aubrey Plaza also stars as a mother who gifts her son (Gabriel Bateman) with a Buddi doll, unaware that this particular Buddi doll is super into stabbing, be it children, cherished animated film characters voiced by Tom Hanks, or otherwise. Atlanta standout Brian Tyree Henry will also star as a detective.

Check out the new poster below. Directed by Lars Klevberg (Polaroid) from a script by Tyler Burton Smith (Kung Fury 2), Child's Play hits theaters on June 21. (So does, uh, Toy Story 4.)

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Here is the official synopsis for Child's Play:

A contemporary re-imagining of the 1988 horror classic, CHILD’S PLAY follows Karen (Aubrey Plaza), a single mother who gifts her son Andy (Gabriel Bateman) a Buddi doll, unaware of its more sinister nature.

 

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Image via Orion Pictures

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