It would seem that one of new additions to the mythology in Nia DaCosta‘s upcoming Candyman is that the titular moniker doesn’t just describe a single character, but rather, as the trailers have been suggesting, “the whole damn hive.” In other words, there’s more than one “Candyman” at play here, including one character we’ve seen already in the various trailers.
That particular “Candyman” is named Sherman Fields, we’ve learned this week, a man who used to hand out candy to the neighborhood kids. Played by Michael Hargrove, Sherman was tortured and killed by cops after he was accused of putting razorblades into the candy, though it ultimately became clear after his murder that he was completely innocent of the crime.
As for Tony Todd’s Candyman, it hasn’t been confirmed that he’s making an appearance but we’re thinking it’s likely. While we wait for more, check out the new shot up above.
In Candyman, co-written by Jordan Peele, “For as long as residents can remember, the housing projects of Chicago’s Cabrini Green neighborhood were terrorized by a word-of-mouth ghost story about a supernatural killer with a hook for a hand, easily summoned by those daring to repeat his name five times into a mirror. In present day, a decade after the last of the Cabrini towers were torn down, visual artist Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and his girlfriend, gallery director Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris), move into a luxury loft condo in Cabrini, now gentrified beyond recognition and inhabited by upwardly mobile millennials.”
“With Anthony’s painting career on the brink of stalling, a chance encounter with a Cabrini Green old-timer (Colman Domingo) exposes Anthony to the tragically horrific nature of the true story behind Candyman. Anxious to maintain his status in the Chicago art world, Anthony begins to explore these macabre details in his studio as fresh grist for paintings, unknowingly opening a door to a complex past that unravels his own sanity and unleashes a terrifyingly viral wave of violence that puts him on a collision course with destiny.”
Candyman returns to theaters on August 27, 2021.