Just when it looked like the theatrical industry was starting to pick up the pieces after spending the last six months on its knees with virtually no income, the domino effect caused by the continued effects of the Coronavirus pandemic might have started up all over again. The rest of 2020’s release schedule is looking incredibly bare as it is, and there’s still every chance that Wonder Woman 1984 might not even end up debuting on Christmas Day having been delayed for a fourth time yesterday.
There are not going to be any high-profile horror movies arriving on the big screen in time for Halloween, either, with Candyman joining Halloween Kills by packing up and retreating to next year. This also marks the third time that the direct sequel to the 1992 original has been delayed after originally being set for June and then September.
With Get Out and Us creator Jordan Peele producing and co-writing the script, rising star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in the lead role and recently announced Captain Marvel 2 director Nia DaCosta behind the camera, Candyman was shaping up to be something special, and all of the footage that we’d seen so far promised a hybrid of sequel and reboot that had every chance of becoming one of the year’s biggest success stories.
Following the news of the delay, DaCosta took to social media and revealed why the decision was made to push Candyman to 2021. And here’s what she had to share:
https://twitter.com/NiaDaCosta/status/1304758133999493120
You can completely understand the filmmaker’s point, because there’s something about enjoying a horror movie in a theatrical setting that heightens the experience. Whether it’s the palpable sense of dread hovering over the entire room, getting secondhand jump scares from the person next to you or the absolute silence that greeted screenings of A Quiet Place, you can’t argue with the fact that Candyman will play much better in a packed house.