Having played Black Manta in last year's Aquaman, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is seeing his star rise quickly. And, on the heels of his working with Jordan Peele on new horror thriller Us, the actor is now in contention to be the new Candyman in the "spiritual sequel" that Peele is producing.
Nia DaCosta is on board to direct the movie, based on a script by Peele and Win Rosenfeld that looks to further explore the mythology of the main character made iconic by Tony Todd in the original 1992 film. It will return to the neighborhood where the legend began: the now-gentrified section of Chicago where the Cabrini-Green housing projects once stood, with Lakeith Stanfield playing an artist in the city who researches the legend of Candyman. And it's not long before strange deaths start to occur around him...
Whether Abdul-Mateen can have the same lasting impact as Todd remains to be seen (and there will be those concerned about someone, anyone else taking over the role). But in Peele we trust: he's so far showed a smart touch with horror projects.
Us is out on 22 March, while Abdul-Mateen will also be seen in the new Watchmen series that HBO is ready to deliver this year. As for the latest Candyman, that has a June 2020 release date on the books, so it should kick off shooting this year.
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