A second trailer just dropped for Nia DaCosta’s Candyman, and it looks like we’re in for a sweet August. What’s most surprising about the newest trailer is the reinvention of the famed slasher’s mythology. Director Nia DaCosta is telling Candyman’s origins in a modern tale involving police brutality this time around; a fact that had been teased in a shadow puppet visual last year.
Horror fans lit the internet abuzz with avid discourse recently over the topic of Black trauma. Many have criticized narratives ripped from headlines and portrayed on-screen as being exploitative rather than redemptive. Little Marvin’s Them and the trailer for Karen only amplified that discussion by tackling racism in overt ways. It’s important to note that Candyman and Them went into production well before the height of the George Floyd protests last year. Get Out and Us filmmaker Jordan Peele co-wrote this screenplay and is producing, so it’s easy to be optimistic for a more nuanced take compared to its criticized counterparts.
While there’s no sight (yet) of the legendary Tony Todd, this reboot has its own chilling voice in the form of Euphoria / Zola star Colman Domingo. Returning actress Vanessa Williams is only one part of a spectacular cast that includes Aquaman’s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Wandavision’s Teyonah Parris. Enjoy the full trailer for yourself below and hook yourself into a theater seat on August 27th.