On Friday, it was announced Universal Pictures was pushing back the release date on directorNia DaCosta’sCandymanupdate. An official release date has yet to be locked in, but we do know the movie will now bow in 2021. This is thethird timeCandyman’s release datehas been delayed following a push from September 25 to October 16. By Saturday morning, DaCosta followed up this news with an official — and very enlightening — statement on the decision to push back the release date of this highly-anticipated “spiritual sequel.”
DaCosta hopped onTwitterin the early hours on Saturday to touch base with her followers and shed light on the decision for the release date push, as reported byVariety. She shared,
“We madeCandymanto be seen in theaters. 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.”
DaCosta continued her explanation in a second tweet, further enlightening with the following: “We wanted the horror and humanity ofCandymanto be experienced in a collective, a community, so we’re pushingCandymanto next year, to ensure that everyone can see the film, in theaters, and share in that experience.”
DaCosta’sCandymanbrings the lore introduced in the 1992 originalCandyman, which starredTony ToddandVirginia Madsen, into the 21st century. The screenplay, co-written by DaCosta &Win RosenfeldandJordan Peele, follows Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), a Chicago-area artist whose work becomes entwined with the Candyman legend, an integral part of the history of the city’s Cabrini-Green projects, and soon takes a frightening hold on his life. In June, DaCosta shared a prologueshort about Candyman’s originswhich teases the timely relevance of this new story. With all of this in mind, DaCosta’s explanation makes complete sense, especially given the gravity of the subject matter at the heart ofCandyman’s story and the weight ofCandyman’s standing in the horror community as a pivotal work of Black horror.
Candymanwill now be released in theaters in 2021. You can read Nia DaCosta’s official statement on the delay below. For more, check out our2021 movie release calendar.
Allie Gemmill is the Weekend Contributing Editor for Collider. You can follow them on Twitter@_matineeidle.
