Jordan Peele co-wrote and produced the upcoming Candyman film. It’s a direct sequel to the 1992 film of the same name and features Tony Todd back in the title role.
Nia DaCosta directed the film, which also stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Teyonah Parris. It’s DaCosta’s second major directing gig, having previously created the 2018 film Little Woods starring Tessa Thompson. DaCosta also directed a couple of episodes from season three of Top Boy.
Watch: Candyman – official trailer
The film is Peele’s third foray into the horror genre. His transition from TV comedy star to one of the most respected film makers of his day began with the 2017 film Get Out. Starring Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Peele picked up the award for Best Original Screenplay.
Peele followed Get Out with the 2019 film Us. While it didn’t receive the same level of magnanimous acclaim as Get Out, Us was still widely regarded a success. It starred Lupita Nyong’o in a world of vengeful doppelgängers. The film made excellent use of music, featuring the Beach Boys’ ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’ and ending with Minnie Riperton’s ‘Les Fleurs’.
The Us trailer repurposed the 1995 song ‘I Got 5 on It’ by hip hop duo Luniz featuring Michael Marshall. Candyman follows this lead, integrating elements of Destiny’s Child’s ‘Say My Name’ into the spine-tingling action. There are a couple of neat connections between the song and the film. Firstly there’s the fact that the Candyman appears when you say his name.
The other is that ‘Say My Name’ came from the group’s album The Writing’s On the Wall. At one point in the trailer Todd’s Candyman says “I am the writing on the wall. The sweet smell of blood.”
Us – official trailer
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