‘Candyman’ Sequel Gets a Director and Theatrical Release Date

Nia DaCosta (Little Woods) has been tapped to direct what’s being labeled a “spiritual sequel” to the 1992 horror classic, Candyman. Monkeypaw Productions’ Jordan Peele and Win Rosenfeld are producing the re-imagining of the horror film and Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures has just come on board as a production partner.

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Jordan Peele (Best Original Screenplay for Get Out) co-wrote the screenplay with Rosenfeld.

“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 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,” stated Peele.

“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 Jonathan Glickman, MGM’s President, Motion Picture Group.

Filming is expected to get underway in the spring of 2019. Universal Pictures will be handling the theatrical release and is targeting a June 12, 2020 opening.

Candyman is based on Clive Barker’s short story, “The Forbidden.” According to the official announcement, the new film “returns to the neighborhood where the legend began: the now-gentrified section of Chicago where the Cabrini-Green housing projects once stood.”

The original Candyman movie was directed by Bernard Rose and starred Virginia Madsen, Xander Berkeley, and Tony Todd. Todd played the titular role in the first film as well as the sequels, Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995) and Candyman: Day of the Dead (1999).