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Chucky Creator Don Mancini Explains Series' "Hauntings in the White House" & Expanding Chucky Lore
Don Mancini has always been interested in exploring the "supernatural lore" of the White House.
From Child’s Play to the new season of Chucky airing on SYFY and USA Network, creator Don Mancini has remained a constant. Ever since writing the initial films about the doll with a taste for murder, Mancini has always been looking to build on the character's unique world in new, exciting ways.
Mancini has never shied away from tackling difficult topics in the stylized, camp tone of Chucky’s relationships and killing rampages. This season is no exception.
Exploring the haunted history of the White House in the Chucky Universe
“Expanding our mythology, our supernatural mythology” was an aspect Mancini was looking forward to.
The season opens with Chucky latching onto a new kid named Henry (Callum Vinson) whose father just happens to be the President of the United States (Devon Sawa — yes, he’s back). And Henry? He believes in ghosts.
Entering America’s most iconic house to explore some otherworldly storylines “seemed like a really fun and new arena that no one has delved much into,” Mancini told SYFY WIRE.
RELATED: Recap: In the Chucky Season 3 Premiere, Our Heroes Vow to Kill Chucky (Again)
“The White House has its own supernatural lore that actually exists surrounding it for centuries and I’d been long interested in that,” Mancini said. “Not even necessarily with Chucky, but just hauntings in the White House.”
The early episodes of the season allude to the fact that there's more going on here than just Chucky, according to Mancini.
“There are other spectral presences vying for attention and that crescendos in the back half of the season," Mancini said.
Teasing what’s to come, Mancini promised “we do things that we’ve never done before in this franchise.”
What’s Don Mancini’s favorite Chucky kill this season (so far)?
Even with new storylines and characters, fans can still expect the familiar, plus some shockingly innovative kills from Chucky.
“There’s so many good ones this season,” Mancini said. “I think we really successfully raised the bar.”
When asked about a favorite kill executed this season, Mancini points to the second episode for one that comes to mind.
“Early on, there’s this great death in the Oval Office when Chucky kill’s the president’s secretary and just the fact of like spilling blood in the Oval Office was sort of naughtily exciting thing to do,” Mancini said.
RELATED: Chucky’s Season 3 White House Setting is “More The Shining than the West Wing”
A lot of scripted shows have shown various versions of the President’s prestigious office, but Chucky’s take was created with a specific design in mind to be the “right canvas and proscenium for us to spill blood in there,” according to Mancini.
To achieve the look, production designer John Dondertman (Orphan Black) utilized a green palate for the Oval Office, Mancini said.
“Biden should take a pitch from John Dondertman and do a whole overhaul because I think that that aesthetic in there is really, truly beautiful,” Mancini joked. “It also goes so well with red, with blood and then, it’s always really important to me that the murders be sort of stylistic and aesthetically elegant in a way.”
New episodes of Chucky Season 3 air on SYFY and USA Network at 9 p.m. ET/PT, streaming the next day on Peacock, followed by new episodes of SurrealEstate at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SYFY.
