Director and co-writer Nia DaCosta shared a new teaser for the much-anticipated reboot of the supernatural slasher film Candyman, which was co-written and produced by Jordan Peele.
In the latest prelude, fans get a glimpse into the disturbing and unsettling past of the legendary hook-handed villain with the use of a haunting puppet show.
‘CANDYMAN, at the intersection of white violence and black pain, is about unwilling martyrs,’ DaCosta, 30, described the storyline on Twitter along with the nearly 2 minute and 30 second clip.
‘The people they were, the symbols we turn them into, the monsters we are told they must have been.’
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Shadowy figures: Director Nia DaCosta drops new teaser for Candyman reboot using puppetry
Described as a ‘spiritual’ sequel to the 1992 horror classic, the plot returns to the Cabrini-Green housing project in the now-gentrified Chicago neighborhood where the legend began.
Right off the top of the trailer, audiences can feel the shadowy tension with the use of amazingly ominous black-and-white puppetry, without any dialogue, and the eerie and haunting music of Helen’s Theme, from the original film playing in the background.
It begins with a Black man, who appears to be walking back from his job at a candy store, who stops to give children some candy, and is chased down and beaten by police.
There’s also another storyline of a young Black boy accused of a crime by a White girl, identified by a crowd of onlookers, and then sentenced to be executed in the electric chair.
New trailer: DaCosta hinted at the systemic racism theme in the Candy reboot co-written by Jordan Peele
Unique storytelling: The teaser begins with a Black man, who appears to be walking back from his job at a candy store
On his way home, the man stops to give children some candy
Horrific: The man is eventually chase down by police and beaten
That leads into the story of Daniel Robitaille/Candyman from the original movie.
In the 1992 cult-classic Candyman is a vengeful ghost of an African-American man who was brutally beaten, mutilated and fed to bees by having honey smeared on his body for a forbidden interracial love affair with Brianna Cartwright in the 19th century.
And as legend claims Candyman, can be summoned by saying his name five times while facing a mirror and openly denying his existence.
The reboot stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Anthony McCoy, a visual artist who lived in the Cabrini Green Housing Projects as an infant and was kidnapped by the Candyman and nearly killed, had it not been for the heroics of Helen Lyle.
Tony Todd reprises his role of Daniel Robitaille/Candyman, while Vanessa Estelle Williams returns as Anne-Marie McCoy, Anthony’s mother.
New Candyman reboot is described as ‘spiritual’ sequel to the 1992 horror classic
The plot: The plot in treboot returns to the Cabrini-Green housing project in the now-gentrified Chicago neighborhood where the legend began
The teaser also shows a young Black boy accused of a crime by a White girl, identified by a crowd of onlookers, and then sentenced to be executed in the electric chair.
Teyonah Parris plays Brianna and Cassie Kramer takes over the role of Helen Lyle, which was played by Virginia Madsen in the original.
The film also stars Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and Colman Domingo.
The original version, directed by Bernard Rose, initially underperformed at the U.S. box office, but it has since become a cult classic, and has had a significant influence on science fiction.
Targeted: Along with the girl , a crowd of onlookers point out the young boy
Executed: The young boy is eventually sentenced to die in the electric chair
The cast: The reboot stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Anthony McCoy, a visual artist who lived in the Cabrini Green Housing Projects as an infant
Mesmerized by the artistry of the puppet teaser, one of DaCosta’s Twitter followers commented on the ‘amazing work’, and asked who created the piece.
‘The beautiful shadow puppetry was done by @ManuaelCinema and the haunting score was created by @lichensarealive,’ DaCosta tweeted back before revealing: ‘They’ll be much more where that came from in the film.’
DaCosta, 30, is best known for writing and directing the 2018 crime thriller western film, Little Woods, starring Tessa Thompson, Luke Kirby, James Badge Dale and Lance Reddick.
The Candyman reboot, the fourth in the franchise, was first slated to premiere in theaters in June but in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is now set to be released on September 25, 2020.
Originals: Tony Todd reprises his role of Daniel Robitaille/Candyman and Vanessa Estelle Williams returns as Anne-Marie McCoy, Anthony’s mother
The cast: The film also stars Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and Colman Domingo
Coming: The Candyman reboot was first slated to premiere in theaters in June but in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is now set to be released on September 25, 2020