The first trailer for Jordan Peele’s Candyman horror flick arrived back in February with an expected October theatrical debut, but as the world wrestles with the uncertainties of COVID-19, “Candyman’s release has been postponed until 2021 — like many major motion pictures set to be released this year.

“We made Candyman to be seen in theaters,” Candyman director Nia DaCosta announced via Twitter on Saturday (Sept. 12). “Not just for the spectacle but because the film is about community and stories–how they shape each other, how they shape us. It’s about the collective experience of trauma and joy, suffering and triumph, and the stories we tell around it.”

She added, “We wanted the horror and humanity of Candyman to be experienced in a collective, a community, so we’re pushing Candyman to next year, to ensure that everyone can see the film, in theaters, and share in that experience.”

Though the last scheduled release date for Candyman was October 15, the highly-anticipated movie was originally slated to come out in June but was then delayed to September.

The Monkey Paw Production drew in excitement when they shared a trailer for the movie featuring a creepy rendition of Destiny’s Child “Say My Name,” earlier this year. It has been described as a “spiritual sequel” to Bernard Rose’s 1992 original, which was filmed in Chicago’s now-eradicated infamous Cabrini-Green housing projects where its residents held tight to the urban legend that says, repeating the words “Candyman” three times in the mirror will lead to a bloody death by hook.

Peele and DaCosta’s direct succession to Candyman will take place right there on the land where Cabrini-Green used to be before it was demolished in 2011.

Tony Todd, who originally played Candyman, Vanessa Estelle Williams, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Teyonah Parris, are all set to star in the urban legend-based horror flick that is now due for release next year.

There currently isn’t an official release date for the film but Universal Pictures and MGM plan to announce one soon.