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‘Candyman’ Reboot Sets New Release Date in 2021

Get ready to say “Candyman” in 2021. After numerous delays, Universal and MGM’s reboot of the supernatural slasher film is scheduled to hit theaters on Aug. 27, 2021.

Jordan Peele wrote “Candyman,” which was directed by Nia DaCosta. Like many films slated for this year, “Candyman” had to postpone its debut numerous times during the coronavirus pandemic. But while some pics have moved to streaming services or premium video-on-demand, DaCosta has fought for her film to play on the big screen when it’s safe to return to theaters.

“We made ‘Candyman’ to be seen in theaters,” DaCosta wrote on Twitter when the movie was taken off Universal’s release calendar in September. “Not just for the spectacle but because the film is about community and stories — how they shape each other, how they shape us. It’s about the collective experience of trauma and joy, suffering and triumph, and the stories we tell around it.”

“Candyman,” described as a “spiritual sequel” to the 1992 slasher film, stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as a struggling artist who begins to lose his grip on reality after uncovering the story of Candyman. As the ghastly urban legend goes, if someone says his name to a mirror five times, Candyman will appear and kill whoever summoned him. The cast also includes Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Colman Domingo, Tony Todd and Vanessa Estelle Williams.

The original “Candyman,” based on Clive Barker’s short story “The Forbidden,” was directed by Bernard Rose. It spawned two sequels: 1995’s “Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh” and 1999’s “Candyman: Day of the Dead.”

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