It was just an hour or so ago that we passed along word that producer Jordan Peele's "spiritual sequel" to Bernard Rose's 1992 adaptation of Clive Barker's CANDYMAN starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (AQUAMAN) and Teyonah Parris (IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK) had wrapped shooting. And now we're hearing from our buddies over at Bloody Disgusting that Tony Todd does return as the titular Candyman in this new film!
While this hasn't been confirmed by the studio as of yet, it does keep in line with some of the rumors we've been hearing as of late. Especially when coupled with Todd's comments earlier this year with the YouTube channel SofaKingCoolOnline, where he said:
Out of the blue I get a phone call from Jordan Peele. Yes, Jordan, you called me! And we're still waiting for the contract, but the way he explained it to me was that it's gonna be 'applause-worthy moments'. That's his words. And it's flattering. No matter what happens with that, it's going to just put renewed attention on the original."
The “spiritual sequel” will return to the neighborhood where the legend began: The now-gentrified section of Chicago where the Cabrini-Green housing projects once stood. Based on Barker's story The Forbidden, the original CANDYMAN was directed by Bernard Rose. The synopsis:
A children's ghost story comes to terrifying life in this gut-wrenching thriller about a graduate student whose research into modern folklore summons the spirit of the dead. Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen) laughs when she interviews college freshmen about their superstitions. But when she hears about Candyman, a slave spirit with a hook hand who is said to haunt Chicago's notorious Cabrini-Green housing project, she thinks she has a new twist for this thesis. Braving the gang-ridden territory to visit the site of a brutal murder, Helen arrogantly assumes Candyman can't really exist… until he appears, igniting a string of terrifying, tragic slayings. But the police don't believe in monsters, and they charge Helen with the grisly crimes. Only one person can set her free: CANDYMAN.
LITTLE WOODS writer-director Nia DaCosta will be taking the helm of this Jordan Peele-produced reboot which Universal Pictures will unleash into a theater near you on June 12, 2020. How excited are YOU about this “spiritual sequel?" Let us know below!