Candyman (2021 film)

For as long as the 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 the present day, a decade after the last of the Cabrini towers were torn down, a visual artist named Anthony McCoy and his girlfriend, an art gallery director named Brianna Cartwright, moved into a luxurious loft condo in Cabrini, now gentrified beyond recognition and inhabited by the upwardly mobile millennials. With Anthony's painting career on the brink of stalling, a chance encounter with a Cabrini Green old-timer exposes Anthony to the tragically horrific nature of the true story behind the 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.[2]

— Universal Pictures

• Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Anthony McCoy, a visual artist who lived in the defunct Cabrini Green Housing Projects as an infant that was known to be haunted by an alleged urban myth called the Candyman over twenty-eight years ago. He was kidnapped by the Candyman and almost killed, but was saved by Helen Lyle.
  • Abdul-Mateen II also portrays a hallucinatory reflection of the Candyman.
• Teyonah Parris as Brianna Cartwright, Anthony's girlfriend who is an art gallery director.
  • Hannah Love Jones as Young Brianna.
• Nathan Stewart-Jarrett as Troy Cartwright, Brianna's brother.
• Colman Domingo as William Burke, a Cabrini Green resident who tells Anthony about the Candyman legend.
• Tony Todd as Daniel Robitaille / Candyman, a vengeful spirit that kills anyone who summons him by saying his name five times while facing a mirror and openly denying his existence.
• Vanessa Estelle Williams as Anne-Marie McCoy, Anthony's mother who believed in the Candyman urban legend while living in Cabrini Green. Years ago, she shared her experience of fearing him to Helen Lyle, who investigated the myth to support her thesis paper on urban legends.
• Rebecca Spence as Finley Stephens
• Cassie Kramer as Helen Lyle,[3] the reincarnation of the Candyman's lover, Caroline Sullivan who was able to defeat the Candyman after sacrificing herself to save Anthony when he was a baby years ago. She became a vengeful spirit herself who could also be summoned if one said her first name five times while facing a mirror while openly denying her existence. The character was previously portrayed by Virginia Madsen in the first film.
• Kyle Kaminsky as Grady Smith
• Christiana Clark as Danielle Harrington
• Brian King as Clive Privler
• Torrey Hanson as Jack Hyde
• Carl Clemons-Hopkins as Jameson
• Cedric Mays as Gil Cartwright
• Nancy Pender as TV News Anchor
• Pam Jones as Devlin Sharpe
• Breanna Lind as Annika

In September 2018, it was announced that Jordan Peele was in talks to produce a sequel of the 1992 film through his Monkeypaw Productions.[4] In a 2018 interview with Nightmare on Film Street, Todd stated, "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 the Candyman is and why he existed in the first place."[5] In November 2018, it was confirmed that Peele would produce the film with Universal and MGM and will partner with Win Rosenfeld to co-produce the film while Nia DaCosta signed on as director.[6] The film will serve as a "spiritual sequel", taking place back in the new gentrified Cabrini Green where the old housing projects development once stood in Chicago. MGM's Jonathan Glickman stated that "the story will not only pay reverence to Clive Barker's haunting and brilliant source material" but "will bring in a new generation of fans."[7] The filming was due to commence in early 2019.[8]

In January 2019, it was reported that Lakeith Stanfield of FX's Atlanta and Sorry to Bother You fame would possibly star in the film, but not as the main titular character rather as an older version of Anthony McCoy who was a visual artist who takes on an interest seeking the legend of the Candyman that was similar to Helen Lyle's character played by Virginia Madsen. At the time, there was no word as to who would be starring in the film and if Todd or any past cast would reprise their roles.[9][10] However, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Todd spoke about Peele, stating: "I know that he's a fan. I'm hoping that I will appear in the film in some form of fashion. Wouldn't that make sense? But, it's Hollywood so I won't take it personally if it doesn't work out." He added, "If this new one is successful, it will shed light back on the original. I think that the subject matter is more important than any individuals and I mean that."[11] In February 2019, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II was in talks to play McCoy, misreported as being in talks to portray the titular character.[12] In response to the news, Todd offered his blessings over Twitter, stating: "Cheers to the Candyman, a wonderful character that I lived with for 25 years. He's brought grace and glory and a beautiful boatload of friends & family. I'm honored that the spirit of Daniel Robitaille & Cabrini Green rises again. Truth to power! Blessings to the cast & crew".[13] However, it was ultimately announced that Todd would reprise his role.[14]

If Beale Street Could Talk actress Teyonah Parris was cast opposite Abdul-Mateen II's character as Anthony's girlfriend, Brianna Cartwright.[14]

The principal photography for Candyman began in early August 2019 and wrapped up in September 2019 (25-27) in the Chicago area[15] with some filming taking place in the North Park neighborhood during the month of September.[16][17] The working title of the film was revealed on some of the cast and crew social media pages as Say My Name which was discreetly used in the revised scripts and production sets to keep things "flying under the radar".[18]

On March 3, 2020, Robert A. A. Lowe was announced as composer for the film.[19]

Candyman was originally scheduled to release on June 12, 2020, by Universal Pictures, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was pushed to September 25, 2020,[20] and then again to October 16, 2020, taking the previous release date of Halloween Kills.[21] The film was then delayed to August 27, 2021.[22] An independent shadow puppetry short film/trailer presented by Nia DaCosta with creative visual work by Manual Cinema was released on June 17, 2020.[23][24]

• Official website
• Candyman at IMDb