Jordan Peele’s Candyman film is officially a-go!
The MGM-set film, now reported as a “spiritual sequel’ to the 1992 film, will release in theaters on June 12, 2020. It will be set in “the now-gentrified section of Chicago where the Cabrini-Green housing projects once stood.”
Nia DaCosta, who had her feature debut this year with Little Woods starring Tessa Thompson and Lily James, will helm the film. Little Woods debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival this year and will be released next year by NEON.
“We cannot wait for the world to see what the mind-blowing combination of Jordan, Win and Nia bring to the legend of Candyman. They have created a story that will not only pay reverence to Clive Barker’s haunting and brilliant source material but is also thoroughly modern and will bring in a whole new generation of fans,” said MGM Motion Picture Group president Jonathan Glickman.
“The original was a landmark film for Black representation in the horror genre. Alongside Night of the Living Dead, Candyman was a major inspiration for me as a filmmaker — and to have a bold new talent like Nia at the helm of this project is truly exciting. We are honored to bring the next chapter in the ‘Candyman’ canon to life and eager to provide new audiences with an entry point to Clive Barker’s legend,” Peele said.
Peele is producing through his Monkeypaw Productions and is also co-writing.
The original 1992 Bernard Rose-directed film was based on a short story by Clive Barker and starred Tony Todd as the Candyman, the son of a slave who became an artist and inventor who was mutilated and killed by his lover’s father using bees. The urban legend, as the film states, is that if you say his name five times in a mirror, he’ll appear and kill the person with the hook that replaces his severed hand.
The film became a success after its release, grossing $25 million with approval from many critics. It has since lived on as a cult horror classic.
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