Don’t expect filmmaker Nia DaCosta’sCandyman rebootto be any less violent than its predecessors, as the upcoming horror flick has officially earned its R rating. As proven in three movies so far, theCandymanmovies are particularly dark and violent, with all three movies in the series given hard R ratings. According to FilmRatings.com, the anticipated movie has been rated R for “bloody horror violence, and language including some sexual references.” The listing also reveals that the movie will be titledSay My Namein certain overseas markets, perhaps in areas where theCandymanfranchise is not quite as well-known with filmgoers.
TheCandymanmovie series originates from a short story by Clive Barker included in theBooks of Bloodcollection. Directed by Bernard Rose, the first movie adaptation was released in 1992, starring horror legend Tony Todd as the titular antagonist. Virginia Madsen, Xander Berkeley, and Kasi Lemmons also starred. Its story follows the fictional urban legend of a vengeful spirit known as the “Candyman,” the son of a slave who was murdered many years earlier. As the legend goes, saying his name five times in the mirror will conjure the hook-wearing ghost to carry out his revenge.
After two sequels, theCandyman franchiseis now set to be rebooted with Nia DaCosta in the director’s chair. Described as a spiritual sequel to the original movie, the newCandymanstars Yahta Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, and Colman Domingo. It has also been reported that Tony Todd and Vanessa Estelle Williams will be reprising their franchise roles as the Candyman and Anne-Marie McCoy, respectively. Virginia Madsen’s role as Helen Lyle will also now be played by Cassie Kramer.
Full details on the new movie’s plot aren’t entirely clear, but we do have some information about the story. According to Universal Pictures, the newCandymanis set in the housing projects of Chicago’s Cabrini Green neighborhood. Like before, word goes around in the community about the mythical Candyman who shows up when his name is repeated five times into a mirror. In the present day, “a visual artist named Anthony McCoy and his girlfriend, a gallery director named Brianna Cartwright, moved into a luxury loft condo in Cabrini, now gentrified beyond recognition and inhabited by the upwardly mobile millennials. With Anthony’s painting career on the brink of stalling, a chance encounter with a Cabrini Green old-timer exposes Anthony to the tragicallyhorrific nature of the true storybehind the Candyman.”
Originally, Nia DaCosta’sCandymanwas set to hit theaters on June 12 of this year. Due to the national shutdown of movie theaters, the movie was pulled from the schedule and delayed until August 23, 2025. As of now, this release date is still the plan for the newCandyman, but if theaters end up shutting down en masse again over the coming months, we just might see another delay until next year, akin toThe Forever PurgeandHalloween Killsgetting pushed back to 2021. In any case, whenever it does come out,Candymanwill definitely be worth watching for big fans of the franchise. This information comes to us fromFilmRatings.com.
