Universal Pictures unveils the first full trailer for Candyman, a reimagining of the 90s horror-classic from producer Jordan Peele and director Nia DeCosta. The original Candyman movie was written and directed by Bernard Rose, who based his script on a short story by Clive Barker called “The Forbidden.” The original film follows Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen), a graduate student researching urban legends, as she uncovers the gruesome murder of a 19th-century black man who was killed for having a child with a wealthy white man’s daughter. Her search leads her to discover that the Candyman is real and that saying his name five times in a mirror summons him, resulting in a hook-related death.
Peele and DeCosta wrote the script for the new take, alongside writer Win Rosenfeld, after it was first announced in 2018. Since then, reports about the movie have been scarce. Madsen is involved in some capacity, although she won’t be reprising the role of Helen Lyle. Tony Todd, who played the titular villain in the original, is also said to return for the DeCosta’s version, but, again, the full circumstances of his involvement has been kept under wraps. Whatever part Todd and Madsen have to play, they’ll be joined this time by Watchmen’s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris (Dear White People), and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Misfits).
The first trailer for the Candyman reboot finally arrived, and while it doesn’t reveal too much, it confirms the film’s return to the original’s setting of Chicago’s Cabrini Green. Abdul-Mateen II plays an artist who’s recently moved to the newly gentrified Cabrini Green, formerly a crime-ridden housing project, to “spread the story” of the infamous Candyman. From there, things unravel in typical horror movie fashion as the body count rises, and Abdul-Mateen II starts to question his sanity. Candyman’s trailer unfolds to a haunting rendition of a classic ’90s hip-hop track (much like the Peele-produced Us used a similarly creepy cover of Eminem’s “I Got 5 On It”). Destiny Child’s “Say My Name” is an appropriately titled needle drop for a movie about an urban legend summoned by repeating his name over and over. Watch the full trailer below:
At a press screening for the trailer, Peele called the film “a reimagining” of the original story - which he described as “one of the few movies that explored any aspect of the black experience in the horror genre in the 90s when I was growing up.” He also said DeCosta was “uniquely suited” to write and direct Candyman, due to her love of the original film, author Clive Barker, and a mutual appreciation for horror director David Cronenberg. Also, “the fact that we were huge fans of her [directorial debut] film Little Woods.”
DeCosta credits gentrification of the real Cabrini Green as what helped her (and her co-writers) reimagine the story. She notes the original film’s vision of the area surrounding the housing project as a place already “on its way to being knocked down.” She says the new Candyman will “talk about the ghosts that are left behind” by gentrification. Judging by the first trailer, it appears the ghosts are pretty angry.
MORE: Candyman’s Tragic, Racially-Charged Origin Explained
Source: Universal Pictures
- Candyman Release Date: 2021-08-27
