Candyman Star Tony Todd Is Game To Do A Sequel In New York [Exclusive]
If you saw the new "Candyman" this year and were disappointed by the dearth of Tony Todd, never fear (unless you're standing in front of the mirror, repeating, "Candyman," that is.) There are still some places on the map where the original Candyman can see himself popping up in future movies.
This year's "Candyman" returned to the scene of the first crime, the Cabrini-Green housing project in Chicago. However, the '90s sequels, "Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh" and "Candyman: Day of the Dead," also took him to New Orleans and Los Angeles. /Film's Lex Briscuso recently interviewed Todd, and she asked him where else he could see Candyman rearing his hook hand. The first place he mentioned was New England. He said:
"I had pitched them an idea because I'm from New England originally and I'm also a teacher and I had an idea that would've taken place in an Ivy League women's college. ... And I had this great image of a Nor'easter and Candyman, snowing, snowing, snowing, and there he is standing on a New England road. That would be my ideal destination. ... We don't want him on a cruise ship. We don't need that. We don't need him on a train."
Candyman: Lost in Times Square
Todd also responded favorably to the suggestion of New York as a location. He said:
"Well, I love New York. ... I spent 10 wonderful years there. ... There's boroughs to choose from. There's subways. And just Candyman lost in Times Square if we add a little 'Midnight Cowboy' element when Times Square had some character, you know, just one of those minions walking down there and maybe walking down 12th Avenue and then going into the Village and then all the nightclubs and stuff. ... Just think of all the immigrants arriving and how that affected all-white neighborhoods, how the poverty always sank to the bottom and so forth."
Todd can currently be seen in the Shudder anthology, "Horror Noire," where he makes a brief appearance in the segment, "Fugue State," with Rachel True ("The Craft.") It's an outgrowth of the documentary "Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror," which they both appeared in two years ago and which we mentioned recently while exploring the controversy behind "Night of the Living Dead" at the time of its release.
Alas, Todd's appearance in "Candyman" this year was also all too brief, as the movie reconfigured the mythology so that Candyman was not just one person but "the whole damn hive." As much as we love Yahya-Abdul Mateen II, Todd is a legend and he and his formidable screen presence are a big part of the reason why that first movie works so well. If he wants his character to stalk people in New England or New York, we'll be there wherever he decides to go.