Tony Todd Will Be Back for Jordan Peele's CANDYMAN Film
We’ve got some news to share with you today regarding Jordan Peele’s Candyman reboot/”spiritual sequel” that fans of the original films will be happy to hear.
Tony Todd, the actor who starred in the original films revealed at Nickel City Con in New York that he will return for the upcoming film in some capacity. Here’s what he told CinemaBlend:
“Out of the blue, I got a phone call from Jordan Peele. We’re still waiting for the contract, but the way he explained it to me was that it’s gonna be applause-worthy moments. That’s his words. No matter what happens with that, it’s gonna just put renewed attention on the original.”
It’s great to see that he will be included in the film. Unfortunately, he won’t be back as Candyman. That role has already gone to Aquaman actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Lakeith Stanfield (Get Out, Sorry To Bother You) is also in talks to play the lead character, Anthony.
The movie is being directed by Nia DaCosta and when previously talking about the movie she said that it “returns to the neighborhood where the legend began: the now-gentrified section of Chicago where the Cabrini-Green housing projects once stood.”
Anthony is said to be a “socially pronounced artist in Chicago who researches the urban legend of Candyman.” It was also explained that after he investigates the killer’s last known whereabouts, “strange killings begin to occur around Anthony.”
Candyman was based on Barker’s short story The Forbidden, which is one of the stories from his Books of Blood short story collections. The story for the original film follows a graduate student who is writing a research paper about local legends and myths in Chicago. While researching the project, she meets someone who tells her about the urban legend The Candyman, an artist and a son of a slave who had his hand severed and was then murdered by his lover’s father. Legend says that he will appear if you say his name five times in front of a mirror.
Candyman will go into production in the spring and is scheduled to be released in theaters on June 12th, 2020.