Candyman 2021 will feature a new take on the title monster, but part of his backstory was teased in the original film. Candyman is based on the Clive Barker short story "The Forbidden," and the movie adaptation cast Virginia Madsen as a student investigating the Candyman urban legend and his origin story. Madsen's Helen discovers far too late that the legend is very real, with Tony Todd playing the titular character, who was once a renowned artist who was lynched for falling in love with a white woman.
Todd brought both a menace and a pathos to the Candyman role, which is all the more impressive given the fact the character only has about ten minutes of screentime. The movie is now considered a horror classic, with Candyman being an iconic slasher. Todd returned to the role for 1995's Candyman: Farewell To The Flesh - a flawed but intriguing follow-up from Bill Condon - and 1999's badly received Day Of The Dead. Nia DaCosta has co-written and produced the upcoming 2021 take on the character, which will reveal there is more than one Candyman.
In this new Candyman origin tale, Michael Hargrove will play Sherman Fields, who was a one-handed man who used to give sweets to the children of Cabrini-Green. He was later accused of putting razor blades in the candy - which is another famous urban legend in itself - and was subsequently beaten and killed by police. In the aftermath, it was discovered he was falsely accused and Fields seemingly acts as the new Candyman of the 2021 film. Fans of the original may have noticed his backstory does tie in with the original, however.
Early on in Candyman 1992, Helen is investigating an abandoned apartment, which has a mural of Candyman's screaming face painted on the wall. There are numerous offerings to the picture from the residents of Cabrini-Green, including a pile of candy. Helen investigates these sweets, and nearly cuts herself on a razor blade hidden inside one. It was this moment that likely inspired DaCosta and producer/co-writer Jordan Peele (Nope) to create a new Cabrini-Green Candyman, which builds off a concept introduced in the original.
Helen became a killer phantom herself in Candyman's finale and is also set to feature in the new story in some way. While it might be disappointing that the next Candyman won't focus on Todd's incarnation, the movie looks to honor the 1992 movie while carving out its own mythology. It's been over 20 years since the slasher appeared on screen, and it looks like it was worth the long wait.