Tony Todd Pitched A Fascinating Candyman Sequel That Never Made It To The Screen

Bernard Rose's 1992 horror classic "Candyman," an American reimagining of Clive Barker's short story "The Forbidden," was about an ambitious graduate student named Helen (Virginia Madsen) who trekked into Chicago's infamous building project at Cabrini Green to investigate an urban legend that had persisted there. It seems that the denizens believed in a ghostly killer called Candyman who would appear behind you if you said his name five times into a mirror. Helen finds, quite shockingly, that the Candyman (Tony Todd) is very real. He is the vengeful spirit of a murdered Black man, a son of a slave, killed by a white mob after the end of the Civil War. His body was burned on the site of the Cabrini Green projects, and he now haunts those who summon him. 

"Candyman" is utterly terrifying, and the late Tony Todd is excellent in the role. He is menacing and sympathetic in turns. Philip Glass' haunting score is one of the more tragic of the horror films of the era, and there is an entire semester of Black studies underneath the film's surface. "Candyman" was a minor hit, making over $25 million on its $9 million budget, which meant a sequel would have to be made eventually. In 1995, Bill Condon directed "Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh," a redux of the myth that transposed its action to New Orleans. "Farewell" is slick and scary, but feels slightly more like a traditional slasher than an eerie ghost story. This was followed in 1999 by the utterly terrible "Candyman 3: Day of the Dead," a film set in 2020 (!) in Los Angeles. 

In 2004, Todd began talking (as recorded by Bloody Disgusting) about how he intended to re-rev the series with a "Candyman IV" that would cost $25 million, and be based on Todd's own script treatment. Sadly, the fascinating project never came to be. 

It was in an interview with Fangoria (transcribed by MovieWeb) Todd revealed the intended budget of his version of a fourth "Candyman." His film was meant to be the biggest and the classiest "Candyman" film yet. The setting, according to Todd, was going to be updated again, and he described it thus: 

"It's going to be set in New England, and the initial image will be of Candyman in a blizzard. The story is about a double identity. I can tell you that it's set at an all-girls college where there is a descendant of Candyman, a professor who doesn't actually know who or what Candyman is." 

He also said that his intended film would not have a Roman numeral attached, as to distance itself from the rather disappointing "Day of the Dead." Todd said that Clive Barker would be serving as an executive producer and a story producer, although he wouldn't have anything to do with the screenplay. It sounds intriguing, especially if the female-only college in question was an Historically Black College or University. It would have to be a fictional college, though, as the only real-life all-women HBCUs are Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, and Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina. A new one would have to be invented to set "Candyman" #4 in New England.

Todd, according to the Bloody Disgusting article, also spoke with Milenko 500 in a (now deleted) 2004 interview. He confirmed in that interview that his film would be set at a women's college in New England, but also put the kibosh on rumors of another "Candyman" film. It seems after the success of the slasher crossover "Freddy vs. Jason" in 2003, Clive Barker was approached about overseeing a "Hellraiser vs. Candyman" movie. Quite deliberately, no movement was made on said project.

Todd said: 

"I think Clive wisely opted against that. He didn't want either of those two characters to sell out for a commercial gain. He is very strongly interested in Candyman IV. That problem that is going on much like many backstage workings, is determining who owns the Candyman franchise." 

The actor noted that the project was ready to move forward. They just needed "the go-ahead" from the studio. Clearly, the go-ahead was never given. In a Dread Central interview from 2009, Todd noted that Deon Taylor ("Traffik," "Fatale," "Fear") was interested in directing, but it seems that was little more than a conversation between director and actor. 

It wasn't until Todd spoke with Bloody Disgusting directly many years after the fact that more details would be revealed. It seems that Candyman would be a professor at the above-mentioned college. He wasn't a ghostly spirit of revenge, but a grounded real-world serial killer who had trouble suppressing his urges to murder, kind of "possessed" by the Candyman. He was even going to chop off his own hand to keep the murdering at bay. In Todd's vision:

"'Candyman' wasn't a curse. Or he was a curse, but ... He wasn't burned, he isn't scarred, except for what's inside. He is the epitome and representation of people that have always been displaced. Or loved the wrong person at the wrong time. He was going to end up being a one-armed Candyman. He's trying to teach without becoming personally involved. It was kind of like the Hulk. If he gets too close, the curse would continue. Because it's not like he chose to be a villain."

But it never got very far. "Snowstorm, girls' college, plenty of victims" was all Todd knew was concrete. After a few years, people ignored it. "Candyman" didn't return until Nia DaCosta's sequel-reboot in 2021. Todd appeared only briefly there.