While it seems that barely a week goes by without rumblings of some sort of remake, reboot, reimagining or whatever the hip phrase of the day is, this one is certainly something that instantly grabs our attention.

Via Bloody-Disgusting, Get Out’s Jordan Peele is circling a new adaptation of Candyman. At this stage, Oscar winner Peele is in talks to produce the film through his Monkeypaw Productions company. There’s no news on whether Peele himself will end up directing the movie, but we’re sure that would be something that would excite many a genre fan should that ultimately end up happening.

Candyman itself actually began life as a short story in Clive Barker’s Books of Blood. Originally titled The Forbidden, the story was famously adapted as a 1992 Tony Todd and Virginia Madsen-starring movie from Bernard Rose. Plot-wise, the movie version took place in a semi-demolished housing development in Chicago. Todd’s Candyman was an artist and the son of a slave, murdered by bees by his lover’s father after first having his hand lopped off. From there, the urban legend of the Candyman is that if you say his name five times while looking in the mirror, he’ll appear behind you – and likely slice you up good ‘n’ proper. Sequels followed with 1995’s Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh and 1999’s Candyman: Day of the Dead, and despite mild rumblings over the decades, the franchise has remained dead since that ’99 effort.

As ever, expect more on this as we get it.

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