CANDYMAN: Everyone Says His Name in This Full Trailer for Jordan Peele's Reboot of the Horror Classic
The first full trailer has been released for producer Jordan Peele’s reboot of the horror classic Candyman. You aren’t supposed to say his name, but almost everyone in this trailer says his name, and it looks like a lot of people are going to die at the hands of an urban legend.
Peele “unleashes a fresh take on the blood-chilling urban legend that your friend’s older sibling probably told you about at a sleepover: Candyman.” The reboot was directed by up-and-coming filmmaker Nia DaCosta (Little Woods), and it looks like it’ll be a decent contemporary incarnation of the cult classic.
Here’s the synopsis:
For as long as residents can remember, the housing projects of Chicago’s Cabrini Green neighborhood were terrorized by a word-of-mouth ghost story about a supernatural killer with a hook for a hand, easily summoned by those daring to repeat his name five times into a mirror. In present day, a decade after the last of the Cabrini towers were torn down, visual artist Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II; HBO’s Watchmen, Us) and his girlfriend, gallery director Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris; If Beale Street Could Talk, The Photograph), move into a luxury loft condo in Cabrini, now gentrified beyond recognition and inhabited by upwardly mobile millennials.
With Anthony’s painting career on the brink of stalling, a chance encounter with a Cabrini Green old-timer (Colman Domingo; HBO’s Euphoria, Assassination Nation) exposes Anthony to the tragically horrific nature of the true story behind Candyman. Anxious to maintain his status in the Chicago art world, Anthony begins to explore these macabre details in his studio as fresh grist for paintings, unknowingly opening a door to a complex past that unravels his own sanity and unleashes a terrifyingly viral wave of violence that puts him on a collision course with destiny.
Tony Todd will also be included in the movie, and while he’s not shown in the trailer, he’s actually reprising his role as Candyman. You do get to hear his voice. Candyman is set to hit theaters on June 12th, 2020. Check out the trailer:
Producer Ian Cooper previously talked about the movie and explained how it’s designed to appeal to both fans of the original and those who have never seen it:
“What we’re doing with Candyman and how Jordan is crafting it on the page is going to be very exciting and rewarding to audiences that haven’t seen the original film as well as people who’ve seen the original film. In a broad sense of the word, this film will stand alone if you’ve never heard of a film called Candyman and will dovetail in a pretty complicated and interesting way to the original. In short, I think this will really fit in with what we’re doing with Us and did with Get Out in a way that will be circuitous. I think what we’re trying to do with Candyman is both be mischievous in how we address the relationship to the first film but also be very satisfying.”
Peele added:
“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.”
Just for the hell of it, watch the trailer for the original film.