Classic Candyman Character Originally Featured in Reboot

Nia DaCosta’s new reboot of Candyman kept its roots grounded in the mythology of the original 1992 film, calling back to the story it told while also spinning some new tales about the titular killer. Fans were pleased to notice several different connections to Bernard Rose’s first Candyman film, but there were actually plans for the reboot to be even more tied to the original. Helen Lyle was supposed to play a major role in the new film, but those plans changed at some point.

Helen Lyle was the main character of the first Candyman, played by Virginia Madsen. At the end of that film, Helen died, but reappeared in the mirror to kill her ex with a hook, continuing on the work of Candyman. According to Bloody Disgusting, early drafts of the reboot — which was written by DaCosta, Jordan Peele, and Win Rosenfeld — featured Helen as a main plot device. Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) was going to call on Helen’s name initially, which would lead him down the rabbit hole to uncover the devastating truths of Candyman and Cabrini-Green.

Scripts obviously change over the course of development and production, so there’s no telling how long this version of Candyman was in the works. However, Helen Lyle was at least involved long enough to shoot some footage for the film. If you pay close attention to the original trailer for Candyman, you’ll catch a glimpse of Helen sitting alone in the church.

The final cut of Candyman that was released in theaters last month was fairly short for a feature, coming in just about an hour-and-a-half. So it wouldn’t be surprising to hear that there is quite a bit of unused footage that was left on the cutting room floor. Helen Lyle’s appearance never made it to the theatrical cut of the film, so there is at least one deleted scene featuring the character that could pop up on Candyman‘s home release. Whether or not it will actually be included in any kind of special features lineup remains to be seen.

Of course, there could always be a sequel to DaCosta’s Candyman, as the ending leaves room for another potential story to come in the future. Maybe Helen Lyle is being saved for the follow-up film.

What did you think of the new Candyman reboot? Let us know in the comments!