The first trailer for the Nia DaCosta-directed and Jordan Peele-produced “Candyman” has arrived and reveals two big things that people have been asking about.
The newest entry in the horror franchise is dubbed a ‘spiritual sequel’ to the original rather than a reboot and returns to Cabrini Green – the now-gentrified Chicago neighborhood where the legend began.
First up, Tony Todd does loke to be reprising the role of Candyman though due to the actors age the film keeps the character’s face hidden where possible (and obviously uses stunt doubles) so it’s likely Todd’s face will only appear briefly and undergo some de-ageing (there’s a tease of his face in a reflection towards the trailer’s end).
The second is that Vanessa Williams will reprise her role of Anne-Marie McCoy in the film and the trailer confirms that Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is playing her adult son – the grown-up version of the baby that Helen (Virginia Madsen) saved from the flaming pyre in the finale of the original.
Here Abdul-Mateen II’s character is an artist who returns to Cabrini Green and soon it looks as though Candyman is trying to manifest himself physically in the man’s form. DaCosta has said the film will not hold back on the gore, and will deal with the theme of ghosts left behind because of gentrification.
Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Colman Domingo and Tony Todd co-star in the film which opens June 12th.
