“Little Woods” director and writer Nia DaCosta has been tapped to helm “Candyman,” a new retelling of the classic horror pic with Jordan Peele, Win Rosenfeld, and MGM producing.
The film, a “spiritual sequel” to the original, returns to the neighborhood where the legend began: the now-gentrified section of Chicago where the Cabrini-Green housing projects once stood. Production is expected to begin next spring. Universal Pictures will release the movie theatrically on June 12, 2020.
“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 MGM Motion Picture Group president Jonathan Glickman.
Peele will produce through his Monkeypaw Productions. MGM will produce and finance “Candyman,” with Universal handling domestic theatrical distribution. Adam Rosenberg, MGM’s co-president of production, and Tabitha Shick, MGM’s vice president of production, will oversee the movie on behalf of the studio and Ian Cooper will produce for Monkeypaw.
“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. 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,” Peele said.
Peele and DaCosta are repped by CAA.