Jordan Peele has continued to gather a powerful cast around his upcoming reboot of Candyman as shooting begins in Chicago. Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Misfits) and Colman Domingo (Fear the Walking Dead) have now joined the horror film from writers Peele and Win Rosenfeld under Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions.
Stewart-Jarrett is best known for his roles in the British TV series Misfits and Utopia, but can be seen in the Hulu remake of Four Weddings and a Funeral. The young actor also starred in the Tony Award-Winning Broadway revival of Angels in America. Like his co-star, Domingo has a history with the theatre. He’s been nominated for both a Tony and Lawrence Olivier award. On the small screen, Domingo is known for his role as Victor Strand on Fear the Walking Dead, but he can also be seen in HBO’s popular drama Euphoria, A24’s Lucy in the Sky from Noah Hawley, and The God Committee.
The new Candyman cast members are joining two quickly rising stars. Already attached to the project are Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Teyonah Parris. Abdul-Mateen II stepped away from the small screen momentarily after The Get Down was ended too soon and flew onto the silver screen in a series of popular films. He was featured in Baywatch and The Greatest Showman. He also portrayed the antagonist Manta in Aquaman and Russel/Weyland in Us, Peele’s follow-up to Get Out. He can next be seen in HBO’s upcoming Watchmen.
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Teyonah Parris has some major projects behind her and even more in the pipeline. She starred in Justin Simien’s 2014 film Dear White People as Coco Connors, as well as Spike Lee’s Chi-rag and Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk alongside Domingo. She’ll following Mateen’s lead by stepping into the superhero world next as Monica Rambeau in the Disney Plus series WandaVision
Nia DaCosta (Little Woods) is directing the film which is described as a “spiritual sequel” to Bernard Rose’s 1992 horror movie. Based on Clive Barker’s short story “The Forbidden,” Candyman centers on an urban legend of a former slave that was murdered because of his relationship with a white woman. When her family learned of the forbidden love, he was smeared with honey so bees would attack him and then burned to death. His ashes were scattered at what would become the Cabrini-Green housing projects. The legend stated if you said his name five times in the mirror, he would come to murder you. You know, like urban legends do.
The set is bound to be an eerie one because among the various Chicago shooting locations is the neighborhood where the legend first began: The Cabrini-Green housing projects. Although the projects have since been gentrified, the intention counts. Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures (MGM) is co-financing the film with BRON creative, and that is good news for the city of Chicago. Candyman will be shot entirely in the windy city, likely bringing jobs and money with it. Not to mention the aesthetic realism that can come from shooting on location.
Expectations are high for the classic film’s reboot because Monkeypaw Productions has churned out some successful movies since it opened in 2012. Under the banner, Peele wrote, produced and directed both Get Out and Us. The company also produced Spike Lee’s BlackkKlansman. This news was first reported by Deadline.
