One of the biggest disappointments of the shutdown of theaters last year was that the release of the highly-anticipated newCandymanfeature produced by Jordan Peele and directed by Nia DaCosta was pushed back by a full year. In a recent interview,Colman Domingo, who appears in the movie, told ET Canada that the epic nature ofCandymanis something that audiences need to experience in cinemas.

“It does need to be on a big screen, I believe that. Nia DaCosta directed something that is really epic and it’s really visually stunning, and I think you need to be in an audience and be shocked and at the same time, and laugh at the same time, and go ‘oh’ at the same time.”

The upcomingCandymanis not areboot of the original 1992 horror classicof the same name, but rather a continuation of the story in modern times. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II stars as Anthony McCoy, a visual artist who moves to Chicago’s Cabrini-Green neighborhood. There he learns of the legend of the Candyman, a supernatural killer with a hook for a hand who attacks anyone who dares to repeat his name into a mirror five times.

Enamored by the legend, Anthony sets up a new art installation that encourages visitors to engage directly with the story of the Candyman. In the process, Anthony comes to realize he himself is experiencing a strange and dark change to his personality, and might in fact be turning into the Candyman. In a previous interview, DaCosta had explained thatAnthony’s transformationforms the basis of what separates the new Candyman from the original one.

“In the original, he’s already a fully formed…I guess monster, we’ll say, because that’s definitely how he’s positioned in the original film, as a monster. And so, it’s really like a reveal of like, ‘Here’s my chest. I’m fully formed, I’m fully grotesque’ and in this one, we really wanted it to be a slow progression, and for me, I really wanted to trigger the response of like, you know when all of us have had a rash or something, and we’re like, hmm, what’s that? Maybe it’s a heat rash, and then maybe it doesn’t go away for a while and you’re like, hm, interesting. Should I go to the doctor? No, it’s probably fine. And then for a vast majority of people, it goes away. In this movie, of course, it doesn’t go away, it gets worse, and so I wanted to have that effect. If someone goes home after watching this movie and looks at their own rash, or bump, or mosquito bite and is a little more freaked out, then I’ve done my job.”

Directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Jordan Peele, Win Rosenfeld, and DaCosta,Candymanstars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Colman Domingo, Vanessa A. Williams, Rebecca Spence, Cassie Kramer, and Tony Todd. The filmarrives in theaters on Jul 02, 2025.