Universal moves Candyman's release to 2021, director Nia DaCosta announces on Twitter

Universal has delayed Jordan Peele and Nia DaCosta's Candyman till 2021.

The film, a remake of 1992 horror classic, has been directed by DaCosta from a screenplay she wrote with Peele.

Candyman was originally set to hit the theatres on 16 October. However, Universal and MGM have now decided to set a new release date amid uncertainty over reopening of cinema houses in the US.

Check out DaCosta's tweet here

We made CANDYMAN to 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.

— Nia DaCosta (@NiaDaCosta) September 12, 2020

We wanted the horror and humanity of CANDYMAN to be experienced in a collective, a community, so we’re pushing Candyman to next year, to ensure that everyone can see the film, in theaters, and share in that experience. — Nia DaCosta (@NiaDaCosta) September 12, 2020

The two studios plan to announce the new release date in the coming weeks, according to Variety.

The news came hours after Warner Bros. shifted blockbuster release Wonder Woman 1984 to 25 December.

Candyman, which features Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in the lead, has been co-produced by Peele, who won an Oscar for his directorial Get Out.

The original film featured Tony Todd as the hook-wielding supernatural killer who, according to a legend, appears after his name is called five times. It was directed by Bernard Rose from a script by Clive Barker.

The new film has been described as a "spiritual sequel" to the original with the story returning to the same neighbourhood where the legend of Candyman began, a section of Chicago where the Cabrini-Green housing projects once stood.

(With inputs from Press Trust of India)