It’s been an exciting few days for those of us looking forward to Nia DaCosta’s Candyman, which released a gripping new trailer yesterday after putting out a teaser earlier this week. The new take on the 1992 movie, which includes Jordan Peele as a producer, is set to update the Candyman mythology for the present day. One of the biggest ongoing questions for the film, though, has been the role, or lack of, that original actor Tony Todd will have.
DaCosta has now shed some light on Todd’s involvement though and seems to be leaving the door open to him making an appearance. Speaking to ScreenRant, she refused to be drawn on whether he’ll be involved or not, but also didn’t rule it out, saying:
“Well, well well… (laughter) I really love Tony Todd. I think he’s iconic. This film…We did this film and it’s great. Tony is great. Jordan is great. And I don’t want to give anything away.”
Okay, so it’s not much of an answer, but we wouldn’t put it past the Candyman producers to keep audiences guessing about Todd’s involvement until the film’s release. Based on the rumored role of Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in the movie and what we saw in the trailer, there may be several different versions of the hook-handed killer in the new Candyman, which suggests Todd may have a cameo. Another alternative is that Todd could show up indirectly through a flashback to the events of the first movie, especially given that there will be plenty of connective tissue between the new and older stories.
In any case, we don’t have too long to wait for Candyman to start stalking our mirrors again, with the pic set for a June 12th, 2020 release. Early buzz has been positive about the direction that DaCosta and Peele are taking the material in, too, which will include several returning characters and a fresh approach to its Chicago setting. We’re optimistic, then, that Candyman will be a solid horror experience, with or without a cameo from Todd.
