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The first trailer for Jordan Peele’s Candyman is here

It’s been over 20 years, but the Candyman is finally returning to the big screen. And we didn’t even have to say his name five times.

90s babies get ready, mirrors are going to become a source of fear once again come the summer. Following in the footsteps of old school slashers like Scream and Halloween, Candyman is next-up for a modern-day refresh, and Oscar-winning producer Jordan Peele is heading up the project.

Check out the new trailer below.

The film has been described as a ‘spirited sequel’ to the 1992 urban legend. Judging from the trailer it appears this summer rebuff will likely deliver the requisite gore and shock that fans expect. Also bees… lots of bees.

For those of you who’ve never seen a VHS player in the flesh, Candyman follows the story of a former slave who was murdered by his captors by being smeared with honey and strung up for killer bees. A century later, an undead manifestation of the slave lies in wake and wreaks havoc on those who bring him to the physical world by saying his name ‘Candyman’ five times in the mirror – the same alias the lynch mob jeered as he died.

Ignoring the two frankly underwhelming sequels that followed the original, Peele has enlisted the talents of burgeoning director Nia DeCosta (Little Woods, Top Boy) to bring a fresh take to the hooked executioner’s second outing.

The plot will return to the film’s original setting, a deprived public housing development in Chicago, but this time the same area is gentrified and is home to a more affluent community. The surviving baby from the original Anthony McCoy has grown into a successful artist, and his obsession with the Candyman legend looks set to land him a kind of terrible meet and greet/demonic possession.

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As with Peele’s first two productions Get Out and Us, Candyman will be as heavy in social commentary as it is scares, covering issues surrounding wealth, race, and toxic fandom.

While 90s horror icon Tony Todd doesn’t appear in the trailer above, reports suggest he will feature in some capacity, so horror fans can chill for now.

Either way, judging from early snippets, the Candyman’s guttural monologues are likely to have us all clutching our duvets through sweaty summer nights.

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