Candyman Reboot Delayed Due to Coronavirus

The coronavirus pandemic that is sweeping the globe is causing another highly anticipated movie to shift its release date, with the upcoming reboot of Candyman moving from its planned June 12th release date to September 25th, per Deadline. Delays due to the pandemic began with the James Bond film No Time to Die shifting back its planned April release, but as the pandemic spread in early March, films like A Quiet Place Part II and Mulan were pulled from release completely as theaters around the world began to shutter their doors. The number of major releases that are still scheduled to land in theaters between now and September begins to dwindle on a weekly basis.

In the new film, 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.

The new film was directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Jordan Peele and Win Rosenfeld.

Tony Todd starred as the titular villain in the original 1992 film, reprising his role for two sequels. In the time since this new film was announced, fans have wondered if it would be a complete overhaul of the source material or connect with the previous trilogy. Peele's comments at the time it was announced claimed it would be a "spritual sequel," with Todd confirmed to appear in the new film echoing that notion.

"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 a filmmaker — and to have a bold new talent like Nia at the helm of this project is truly exciting," Peele shared in a statement when the project was announced. "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."

Candyman lands in theaters on September 25th.

Are you disappointed by the delay? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!