After years of acting and writing for comedy, last year Jordan Peele delivered his first directorial effort, Get Out, the Blumhouse-produced horror movie that ended up being one of the most profitable movies of 2017 and netted Peele the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Peele is following up Get Out with Us, another horror movie, and now there's word that after that, he might have a hand in delivering a remake of Candyman, which was based on the Clive Barker short story "The Forbidden."
The original Candyman movie was released in 1992 and was followed by two direct-to-video sequels in 1995 and 1999. Now nearly three decades after audiences first watched Tony Todd as the eponymous antagonist terrorize and slice up his prey, Bloody Disgusting reports that the rights to the Candyman franchise have become available again (although it's unclear exactly who currently holds them) and that Jordan Peele is in talks to produce a remake through his company Monkeypaw Productions. If a deal is reached, it's unclear if Peele might also decide to sit in the director's chair, but this would nonetheless be a cool opportunity for Peele to help put a new spin on an existing piece of horror intellectual property.
For those unfamiliar with Candyman, the movie followed Virginia Madsen as Helen Lyle, a graduate student who learns about the urban legend of Candyman, the killer with a hook for a right hand who can be summoned by saying his name five times in front of a mirror. Helen unwisely decided to do just that, and while she initially believed that it didn't do anything, sure enough, Candyman was unleashed back on the world and force Helen to "shed innocent blood" on his behalf to show true belief in him so that he could still exist. In the original movie, Candyman was originally the son of a slave who was attacked by a lynch mob led by his lover's father, had his hand cut off and was ultimately stung to death by bees. Presumably this backstory would be kept intact for the remake, but it will also be interesting to see how this version of the story will differ creatively from its predecessor.
Candyman isn't the only established horror property that may be getting a cinematic re-do. Back in June, it was reported that a Child's Play remake is in development, and last month, word came in that more Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies are supposedly on the way. And while not completely resting in the horror realm, there is also a new Twilight Zone TV series in the works for CBS All Access that Jordan Peele is developing, so he's getting to split his time between original productions and revitalizing existing content.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates on how the Candyman remake is progressing, but in the meantime, check out our 2018 release schedule to learn what movies are arriving in theaters later this year.
