Nia DaCosta To Direct Reboot Of Candyman With Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions Co-ProducingPosted by Wilson Morales
November 27, 2018
Source: Deadline
Deadline is reporting Nia DaCosta (Little Woods) will direct a reboot of Candyman, the 1992 horror classic adapted from Clive Barker’s short story The Forbidden.
MGM is partnering with Monkeypaw Productions’ Jordan Peele & Win Rosenfeld to produce the film, which will be written by Peele and Rosenfeld.
The new Candyman is being billed as a ‘spiritual sequel’ to the original and returns to the neighborhood where the legend began: the now-gentrified section of Chicago where the Cabrini-Green housing projects once stood. Tony Todd originated the role of Candyman aka Daniel Robitaille, an urban legend who is summoned to kill when his name is said five times by a person facing a mirror. The original movie spawned a 1995 sequel Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh and 1999 one Candyman 3: Day of the Dead, the latter which was direct to video.
DaCosta’s recent crime drama feature Little Woods starring Tessa Thompson and Lily James made its world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year and earned her the Nora Ephron Award.
Production will start this spring and Universal Pictures will release Candyman in the U.S. on June 12, 2020. MGM is producing and financing. Adam Rosenberg, MGM’s Co-President of Production and Tabitha Shick, MGM’s Vice President of Production will oversee the project on behalf of the studio and Ian Cooper will produce for Monkeypaw.
“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,” said Glickman.
“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 filmmaker — and to have a bold new talent like Nia at the helm of this project is truly exciting. We are honored 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,” said Peele.
