Jordan Peele, who has followed his incredible success with Get Out by announcing a slew of other projects, has thrown another one on the pile: a contemporary sequel to the cult classic 1992 horror film Candyman.
Peele is producing the film, which will be directed by Little Woods director and writer Nia DaCosta. Here’s the statement from MGM:
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,
If you haven’t seen Candyman, you should seek it out. Released at the tail end of the slasher boom of the 1980s and early 1990s, it set itself apart from its peers with its curiously political undercurrents – it was set in Cabrini-Green housing projects in Chicago, and it dealt with issues around urban decay, political failure and race. As well as, you know, a guy with a hook for a hand who kills people.
Also it had an unbelievably great score by Philip Glass, who had absolutely no business scoring a slasher movie but did anyway, which is amazing. Even the title sequence whips thanks to his score:
Here’s Peele:
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 honoured 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.
Keen.
