Original 'Candyman' star Kasi Lemmons reveals connection to reboot (exclusive)
Candyman actor Kasi Lemmons isn’t appearing in the new reboot of the horror franchise, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t linked to the movie.
Promoting her new directorial effort Harriet, Lemmons told Yahoo Movies UK that the reboot of the gory classic will be helmed by one of her former students.
Nia DaCosta is set to direct the new outing, which is produced and co-written by Get Out and Us filmmaker Jordan Peele.
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Lemmons, who portrayed the ill-fated Bernadette in the 1992 original film, said she has worked with DaCosta before.
“I teach at NYU grad film and I've worked with Sundance for years,” said the filmmaker.
“So this director, Nia DaCosta, has come through Sundance and I actually mentored her — not on Candyman, but on her first film [2018’s Little Woods].
“First of all, I'm thrilled that this young woman is getting to direct this. It's really exciting. I think it's great.”
Lemmons added that she is not involved with the new film, unsurprisingly given her character’s violent demise back in 1992.
“My character is very dead,” she said. “Spoiler alert if you haven't seen the first Candyman. I was eviscerated. She's gone.”
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The new take on Candyman is due to arrive in cinemas next summer, with Tony Todd returning as the hook-handed killer who emerges when his name is spoken five times into a mirror.
Aquaman star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is also involved, with initial reports suggesting he would be taking over from Todd in the title role.
Lemmons is in the director’s chair for the first time in six years with Harriet, which traces the story of iconic American abolitionist Harriet Tubman, played by Cynthia Erivo.
The director described Tubman as “a real American hero” who is a beloved figure in history.
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She said: “It was really doing the research that I came to know her intimately and then it became quite wonderful and urgent for me to do it.”
Harriet arrives in UK cinemas on 22 November.
