‘Chucky’ BTS Image — Jennifer Tilly Pals Around With John Waters

The Big Picture

• John Waters joins the cast of Chucky Season 3, reuniting with Jennifer Tilly for the first time in almost two decades.
• The Child’s Play franchise often recycles actors, bringing back favorite stars for different roles, like Michael Therriault and Devon Sawa.
• The future of Chucky remains uncertain as the first half of Season 3 ends with a cliffhanger, leaving Chucky’s de-aging plan in question and the trio of protagonists still trying to catch and destroy him. No release date for the return of Chucky has been announced.

Legends are hanging out with Legends on the set of Chucky Season 3 as Jennifer Tilly took to her X account to share an image with John Waters. Yesterday, news broke that the iconic filmmaker behind such titles as Hairspray and Cry Baby would be joining the cast of the slasher series for the second half of its third season. Far from his first tango with the little red-headed devil, Waters previously appeared in 2004’s Seed of Chucky, where his character, a paparazzo named Pete Peters met an untimely death after getting in Chucky’s way. This time around, the Baltimore native will appear as Good Guys doll creator, Wendell Wilkins. How Wendell will play into the storyline remains to be seen, but the first batch of episodes revealed that Chucky (voiced by Brad Dourif) was aging at a rapid rate, so perhaps he’ll be seeking out Wilkins’ help to Benjamin Button him back to immortality.

The photo in question reveals Tilly and Waters in between takes. All dolled up, Tilly’s Tiffany Valentine is back to her bombshell blonde look with vibrant red lipstick while Waters wears a red sweater and rocks his iconic pencil-thin mustache. This marks a reunion for the duo, who previously shared the set on Seed of Chucky almost two decades ago. Known for dropping behind-the-scenes looks at the creative process, we’re thrilled to see that Tilly is back at it again, giving us the goods.

The Child’s Play Franchise’s Recycling of Actors

If there’s one thing franchise creator Don Mancini knows how to do, it’s create new characters for his favorite actors. Just as the titular doll always comes back, the same can be said for many of the stars. Along with Waters, Season 3 of Chucky resurrected Michael Therriault, who has now played three different characters in the franchise. Likewise, early 2000s horror icon, Devon Sawa, was killed a whopping three times during the show’s first two seasons and is back this time around as the President of the United States. During an interview with Mancini back in October, Collider’s Britta DeVore inquired about cameos in the second half of Season 3. Keeping a tight lip, we’re thrilled to see that the production has brought back one of the greatest alumni – now bring us Catherine Hicks!

The Future of Chucky

The final episode of the first half of Season 3 left audiences on a cliffhanger after Chucky’s plan to take as many lives as possible at the White House‘s annual Halloween party didn’t move him even one step closer to de-aging. Meanwhile, the trio of pals, Jake (Zackary Arthur), Lexy (Alyvia Alyn Lind) and Devon (Bjorgvin Arnarson) are still miles away from catching and destroying the possessed doll. Still behind prison bars, it doesn’t look like Tiffany (or is it Jennifer?) won’t be staying there for long, so Nica (Fiona Dourif) had better watch her back.

No release date has been announced for when audiences can expect Chucky to return to Syfy, USA Network, and Peacock, but all previously released episodes are now streaming on the latter. Check out Tilly’s behind-the-scenes shot below.

Watch on Peacock