The long awaited reboot of Candyman from director and co-writer Nia DaCosta and co-writer Jordan Peele has resumed its promotional efforts after experiencing COVID-19 related delays–and DaCosta is kicking things off personally with a message on the eve of Juneteenth, featuring some behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the film.
Take a look at DaCosta’s message and the featurette right now.
In the video, DaCosta explains the importance of a genre like horror in relationship to the real world trauma and suffering being experienced by Black people, even across what is meant to be a celebratory event–the recently declared holiday of Juneteenth, the anniversary of the emancipation of enslaved people at the end of the Civil War.
The story of Candyman was originally told in 1992 as a film based on the short story “The Forbidden” by Clive Barker. It has since become a cult classic for slasher fans. The reboot was originally scheduled for release in June of 2020, but has been bumped back to August of 2021 after production delays. The movie stars Yaya Abdul-Mateen II (Watchmen, Aquaman) and Teyonah Parris (WandaVision). Tony Todd, who played Candyman in the 1992 original will be reprising his role.
Candyman is set to hit theaters on August 27.