‘Candyman’ Actor Carl Clemons-Hopkins ‘Excited’ For Audiences to Finally See Movie in Theaters (Exclusive)

Hacks star Carl Clemons-Hopkins thought Candyman, Nia DaCosta’s highly anticipated entry in the Candyman franchise, would help raise their profile long before Hacks hit HBO Max to rave reviews. Unfortunately, the movie has been delayed repeatedly due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is finally set to hit theaters on Aug. 27. In a recent interview with PopCulture, Clemons-Hopkins said they were “excited” that audiences will finally get to see the movie in two months.

Although Clemons-Hopkins only has two scenes in Candyman, they said it was “very frustrating” that audiences could not see their first major movie for a year. When they shot the movie, they were “so excited” to have a few lines and for everyone to see it in 2020. But then, it kept getting pushed back. “It’s going to be interesting seeing this work we all did from two years ago,” they said.

The film was shot so long ago that Clemons-Hopkins compared it to a “theater piece” since it was “such a different world” when Candyman was filmed. Still, Clemons-Hopkins is “excited” for people to see the star-studded cast of Candyman in action. The movie, co-produced and co-written by Jordan Peele, stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Watchmen) and Teyonah Parris (WandaVision, The Photograph). Clemons-Hopkins cannot wait “for everyone to see the really hard work they did,” as well as the “real beautiful work” DaCosta did as the director.

“I know it will hold up, but it’s just I feel like we all were completely different artists then,” Clemons-Hopkins told PopCulture. “I think it’s going to be a nice little peak, like a little flashback, into right before pandemic work. I’m excited about it. I’m excited it’s finally coming out. I’m excited that people will finally see it.”

The new Candyman movie is a direct sequel to the original 1992 film of the same name, and is based on Clive Barker’s short story The Forbidden. Abdul-Mateen plays an artist who grew up in Chicago’s Cabrini Green Housing Projects. He moves back there after the neighborhood was gentrified, only to be reminded of the horrific story of the Candyman. The artist uses the story for inspiration for his paintings, but this only serves to torture his mind. Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and Colman Domingo also star.

Clemons-Hopkins recently scored their breakout TV role as Marcus, the manager for Jean Smart’s character on HBO’s Hacks, which was just renewed for a second season. Although they have a few TV credits under their belt, Clemons-Hopkins had to adjust to acting on a set without an audience. This was particularly difficult when they also couldn’t see the crew react behind their face masks! They also missed the extensive rehearsal process that stage productions have.

“I’m used to two, four, sometimes six weeks of you know exactly what the moment is, exactly where you’re going, whatever, as opposed to you arrive, you get on set and go through it once, and then we’re rolling,” Clemons-Hopkins said. “It’s like, okay, here we are, let’s go.” Hacks is now streaming on HBO Max, while Candyman will be in theaters on Aug. 27.