Lakeith Stanfield May Star In Jordan Peele’s “Candyman” Reboot

Jordan Peele, Lakeith Stanfield

Lakeith Stanfield May Star In Jordan Peele’s “Candyman” Reboot

Ever since the release of his record-breaking, critically-acclaimed and award-winning film Get Out was released at the start of 2017, former Key & Peele star Jordan Peele has quickly become one of the major players in Hollywood. Now, he’s set to produce a reboot the classic 90’s horror film Candyman and has a certain Atlanta star in mind.

Jordan Peele

Jordan Peele has so many upcoming projects on his plate it’s hard to keep track.

There’s the horror flick Us, starring Lupita Nyong’o hitting theaters in March, as well as a reboot of the classic television show The Twilight Zone and countless other projects. However, the one that’s catching current attention is his reboot of the 1992 horror classic Candyman.

‘Atlanta’ Cast Brian Tyree Henry, Zazie Beetz, Donald Glover, and Lakeith Stanfield

The new version is rumored to star Atlanta’s Lakeith Stanfield. According to reports, Stanfield would portray the film’s main protagonist, an artist named Anthony who is researching the Candyman urban legend. The character Stanfield is being rumored to portray is similar to the character of Heather Lyle from the original film (played by Virginia Madsen) and that the gender reversal of the role is likely an attempt to distinguish the reboot from the original.

There is currently no casting news on who will actually play Candyman himself, though whomever gets the role should be an interesting choice, as Peele is known to go against the grain. Tony Todd, the original Candyman, previously stated that he had mixed feelings about a reboot, saying:

 “I have mixed feelings because I thought they were gonna make this 15 years ago. If this had been 10 years ago when I had heard news, I would have been devastated.  I would have fought for it. Now I’m in a different place. I’ve got so many other options that even if they make it without me, which I doubt, the attention the new movie will create will lead folks back to the original [film] because people like to see the source material.”

Now, that Peele is on board to take the helm as producer, Todd feels more positively about rebooting the film that contains his iconic character:

“I’d rather have him do it, someone with intelligence, who’s going to be thoughtful and dig into the whole racial makeup of who ‘Candyman’ is and why he existed in the first place.”

MGM has scheduled the movie, which will be directed by Nia DaCosta to arrive in theaters on June 12, 2020.

Are you excited for a Candyman reboot? Do you think Lakeith Stanfield is a good casting choice? Let us know in the comments below!