Longtime Candyman actor Tony Todd has praised Nia DaCosta’s upcoming franchise reboot.
Candyman is a franchise with a somewhat convoluted history. It had its origins in a short story known as The Forbidden by Clive Barker which followed a University student in the United Kingdom, who was tracking down the Candyman legend. The 1992 film adaptation switched the setting to the projects in Chicago as well as many other key details about the character. That version was portrayed by Tony Todd, turning the then-unknown actor into a horror icon.
Tony Todd would go on to reprise the role for Candyman‘s two sequels, Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh and Candyman: Day of the Dead. The actor is set to play the character once again for Nia DaCosta’s reboot, although it is unknown how big of a role he will have in the movie. The actor has previously said that he thinks that fans will be proud of the new film and has continued to echo these sentiments. In a recent interview the actor had nothing but positive things to say about the upcoming film:
“I carried this character for 30 years. It’s always been a fan favorite. But this year is off the chain.”
Here is the official synopsis for Candyman:
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.
Directed by Nia DaCosta from a script she co-wrote with Jordan Peele and Win Rosenfeld, Candyman stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Colman Domingo, and Tony Todd.
Candyman will be released in theaters on August 27, 2021. Stay tuned for all the latest news on Candyman and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.