With horror hit Get Out behind him, Jordan Peele is not dwelling on his laurels. The director is working on an upcoming horror film entitled US and a reboot of the classic Twilight Zone series. But he’s not stopping there. Den of Geek recently reported that Peele is getting ready to make a remake of the 1992 horror movie Candyman.
The original Candyman came out in 1992. Despite modest box office results, it did well with critics and movie goers. It even spawned two sequels. Based on the short story “The Forbidden” by Clive Barker, the film changed the setting from Liverpool, England to Chicago, Illinois. Directed by Bernard Rose, the film focuses on a graduate student doing research on myths and legends who stumbles upon that of the “Candyman,” the son of a slave who was lynched in 1890. Despite the sad origin story, or end of life story rather, the Candyman returns to seek vengeance in the afterlife.
While Jordan Peele has been keen to reboot the film for a while, developments finally got underway now that the rights for the franchise have become available. Peele’s production company Monkeypaw will produce the film along with MGM. Peele has described the upcoming film as more of a “spiritual sequel” than a remake or reboot, since it will take place in the same Cabrini-Green neighborhood as the first, but in the modern day.
In an interview with Nightmare on Film Street, original Candyman actor Tony Todd gave his thoughts on the upcoming film. Speaking about Jordan Peele, Todd remarked that “I know I’d rather have him do it, someone with intelligence, who’s going to be thoughtful and dig into the whole racial makeup of who Candyman is and why he existed in the first place.” Peele will share screenwriting duties with Win Rosenfield, while Nia DaCosta will direct the film.
Candyman will return to the Windy City to wreak havoc on June 12, 2020.
