Prepare to say his name five times again... if you dare. Last year, it was revealed that Jordan Peele will produce a "spiritual sequel" to Bernard Rose's Candyman (based on Clive Barker's short story "The Forbidden") that will be directed by Nia DaCosta (Little Woods), and now Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is "in talks" to star as the lethal urban legend known as Candyman in the new movie.
The news of Abdul-Mateen II's potential involvement in the new Candyman comes from multiple sources, including Variety. Should a deal be finalized, Abdul-Mateen II is expected to play the titular character who appears (along with his lethal hook) if you say his name five times in front of a mirror. Accompanied by bees, the iconic character was played by Tony Todd in the first movie and both of its sequels.
This would mark another major acting role to Abdul-Mateen II's impressive résumé, which already includes Aquaman, The Get Down, Jordan Peele's Us, and the new Watchmen series.
The new Candyman will be produced by Jordan Peele's Monkeypaw Productions, along with Win Rosenfeld and MGM, and is slated for a theatrical release via Universal Pictures on June 12th, 2020, with production being eyed to start this spring.
According to Variety, the new Candyman will go back "to the neighborhood where the legend began: the now-gentrified section of Chicago where the Cabrini-Green housing projects once stood."
Here's what MGM Motion Picture Group president Jonathan Glickman previously had to say about the reimagining (via Variety):
“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.”
Sharing Glickman's excitement, Peele previously shared his thoughts on the new Candyman and reflected on the cultural significance of the original movie (via Variety):
“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.”
Late last year, the first Candyman movie was released on a Collector's Edition Blu-ray from Scream Factory, and for those unfamiliar with the film, we have its synopsis and trailer below (via Scream Factory):
"This gut-wrenching thriller follows a graduate student whose research summons the spirit of the dead! When Helen Lyle hears about Candyman, a slave spirit with a hook hand who is said to haunt a notorious housing project, she thinks she has a new twist for her thesis. Braving the gang-ridden territory to visit the site, Helen arrogantly assumes Candyman can't really exist ... until he appears, igniting a string of terrifying, grisly slayings. But the police don't believe in monsters, and charge Helen with the crimes. And the only one who can set her free is Candyman."
Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.
When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.
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