Candyman is a film franchise based on Clive Barker’s 1985 short story “The Forbidden” from the collection Books of Blood, which tells the story of “Candyman,” the ghost of an artist and the son of a slave who was murdered in the late 1800s.
Bernard Rose directed the 1992 film Candyman, which starred Tony Todd as the title character. Despite its initial underperformance at the American box office, the film became a cult classic.
The film’s novelization and comic adaptation were both released in the same year. Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh, released in 1995, and Candyman: Day of the Dead, released in 1999, were both sequels.
Director Nia DaCosta and producer Jordan Peele released a direct sequel to the original Candyman on August 27, 2021.
- Candyman (1992)
- Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995)
- Candyman: Day of the Dead (1999)
- Candyman (2021)
To date, four Candyman films have been released. The fourth installment of the Candyman franchise was released on August 27, 2021, exactly one year ago, and was produced by Jordan Peele and Nia DaCosta, among others.
Continue reading to find out how the films were made and whether they are related.
The casts of the four Candyman films differ from one another. Tony Todd, Virginia Madsen, Xander Berkeley, Ted Raimi, Kelly Rowan, Bill Nunn, Veronica Cartwright, Donna D’Errico, Ernie Hudson Jr., Wade Williams, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Teyonah Parris are among the notable actors in the Candyman series.
The film is based on Clive Barker’s short story “The Forbidden,” in which a graduate student accidentally summons Candyman while researching urban legends.
A murderous spirit with a hook for a hand reappears and sets its sights on a young woman whose family was wiped out years ago by his terror.
The episode with the lowest rating depicts Candyman’s return, which is directly related to the following episode. He tries to persuade his descendant to join him this time.
On August 27, 2021, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Monkeypaw Productions released the fourth film in the series. The film stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, with Tony Todd reprising his role as the title character.
It is a direct sequel to the first film, taking place twenty-seven years later in Chicago’s Cabrini Green (ignoring other sequels). Anthony McCoy, a young, overconfident visual artist, is stifled by a lack of inspiration in his efforts to increase his exposure.
His curiosity is piqued when he discovers an old urban legend about Helen Lyle, a graduate student who went insane while conducting research and sacrificed herself to save a baby in the Cabrini Green project housing developments.
He pursues the information further, which leads him to a local laundromat owner who reveals his version of the urban legend, which is of an amputated hook-handed man named Sherman Fields who was wrongfully murdered by Chicago police officers in the 1970s,
and Cabrini Green residents thought he was “The Candyman” who harmed children with razor blades hidden in candy.
Anthony becomes obsessed with these urban legend discoveries as he uses them to influence the summoning of ‘The Candyman’s’ spirit, but he later realizes
the consequences of his actions when he learns the truth behind the urban legend through his hallucinations, which becomes a lethal reality.
- The film is directed by Bernard Rose.
- The scripts were written by Bernard Rose and Clive Barker.
- Starring are Virginia Madsen, Xander Berkeley, and Tony Todd.
- 1 minute and 39 seconds
- The film is directed by Bill Condon.
- The scripts were written by Rand Ravich and Clive Barker.
- This production stars Tony Todd, Kelly Rowan, and William O’Leary.
- 1 hour and 35 minutes
- Turi Meyer is the director.
- The scripts were written by Alfredo Septién and Clive Barker.
- This production stars Tony Todd, Donna D’Errico, and Jsu Garcia.
- Thirteen hours and thirty-three minutes
The Candyman films were created by a group of filmmakers. Bernard Rose directed Candyman (1992), Bill Condon directed Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh, Turi Meyer directed Candyman: Day of the Dead, and Nia DaCosta directed Candyman 2021.
If you haven’t seen the Candyman movies yet, this trivia about the franchise might pique your interest. The bees in the original Candyman film (1992) were bred specifically for this film, according to IMDb.
The bees had to be only twelve hours old for the producers to ensure that they appeared mature but had weaker stingers.
This did not stop Tony Todd from being stung 26 times during the trilogy’s production, nor did it stop him from negotiating a $1,000 bonus for each sting he received on set.
We appreciated Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh’s nod to another horror classic, Halloween. Mrs. Tarrant makes a reference to the original 1978 Halloween film and its sequels by referring to her doctor, Dr. Loomis, which we think is pretty cool.
Jordan Peele and Nia DaCosta proved their worth as directors in the most recent installment of the Candyman franchise.
While the production ensured that the film was a direct sequel to the first, racial issues were highlighted. This is evident in the shadow puppet scene, in which the puppets are used to depict the horrors of racial violence.
Anthony McCoy is also the first African-American protagonist in a Candyman film!
The Candyman films are interconnected. Although watching the first three films is not strictly necessary if you are only interested in the most recent installment, it is always interesting to see how cinematography has evolved over time.
Although it has not been officially announced, a Candyman sequel is highly likely. So far, the film has received mostly positive reviews (and, also, some less enthusiastic ones).
However, the ending [no spoilers!] hinted that there might be more. Are you already pumped?
The entire franchise is available to watch online. The most recent installment is available on Prime Video, Apple TV, Vudu Movie, Loud and Lit, The Roku Channel, Spectrum TV, and Redbox, as well as a variety of other video streaming services such as EPIX and ROW8.
The original film, as well as its sequels, are available on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and YouTube.
Overall, the films are easily accessible whenever they are required!
Candyman is a popular supernatural horror franchise based on the “Candyman” urban legend. All three Candyman films are linked and should be watched in order.
In this article, I’ve listed all of the Candyman films in the order they should be seen. If you have any further questions, please post them in the comments section.
Q1. Is Candyman 3 the new one?
No, It was followed by a fourth film, Candyman, in 2021, which was a direct sequel to the 1992 film of the same name and returned the story to Chicago, Illinois.
Q2. Do I need to watch Candyman 2?
The answer is a little more complicated. Candyman 2021 makes no changes to the previous films, instead focusing on Helen Lyle, the Daniel Robitaille version of Candyman played by Tony Todd, and the tragic history of the Cabrini Green housing projects.
Q3. Is Candyman 2 a prequel?
It is a sequel to the 1992 film Candyman, which was written by Rand Ravich and Mark Kruger and based on Clive Barker’s short story “The Forbidden.”
