Don’t worry: Technically, this is not one of those in-fashion “Moneybags Studios is moving this premiere because this pandemic is never ending” announcements. We already did that in September. This is the ever-hopeful “here’s a solid date that we can very tentatively look forward to” kind of development, which is a little better, right? Either way, Deadline reports that Universal and MGM have set director Nia DaCosta and producer Jordan Peele’s long-awaited Candyman has a specified release date of August 27, 2021.
These days it’s hard to imagine a COVID-free world where we would have seen the film months ago after its originally slated June 2020 box office premiere. Now, we can only assume that any release date, no matter how far in the hazy future it may be, is just a mere exercise of dwindling optimism. But as studios begin their next round(s) of shuffling titles, the later half of 2021 is still a sought-after goal. Disney, for instance, is still clinging to that same time period for some of its Marvel and 20 Century titles. (And that can all change by the time you finish reading this sentence, dear reader. Life is just that free-wheelin’ these days.) But the continued shuffle does indicate that Universal is still interested in a big screen debut for DaCosta’s terrifying feature, and that’s a sentiment that we understand entirely.