Before '28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,' Nia DaCosta Took Over Another Iconic Horror Franchise

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Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Anthony McCoy in 'Candyman'

Shawn Van Horn is a Senior Author for Collider. He's watched way too many slasher movies over the decades, which makes him an aficionado on all things Halloween and Friday the 13th. Don't ask him to choose between Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees because he can't do it. He grew up in the 90s, when Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond, and TGIF were his life, and still watches them religiously to this day. Larry David is his spirit animal. His love for entertainment spreads to the written word as well. He has written two novels and is neck deep in the querying trenches. He is also a short story maker upper and poet with a dozen publishing credits to his name. He lives in small town Ohio, where he likes to watch professional wrestling and movies.

Last year, 28 Years Later resurrected a franchise that turned the zombie genre on its head in 2002 with 28 Days Later. Coming out in the months after 9/11, and stacked with rage-filled monsters who didn't shamble but ran, the Alex Garland-written and Danny Boyle-directed film is now regarded as one of the best horror films of the 21st century. Neither Boyle nor Garland returned for the 2005 follow-up, 28 Weeks Later, but two decades later, they were back for the perfectly titled 28 Years Later. Although it was the first of a planned trilogy, Boyle gave up the director's chair for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, instead handing it over to Nia DaCosta. A few years ago, that may have been a risk, but in 2021, DaCosta brought life back to another franchise when she shocked audiences with her take on Candyman.

Nia DaCosta Was Given a Difficult Task With '28 Years Later: The Bone Temple'

In April 2024, Deadline exclusively announced that Nia DaCosta would be directing the second entry in the 28 Years Later trilogy. This was huge for DaCosta, and also rather challenging, because it would be no ordinary sequel. Instead, 28 Years Later and 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple were to be filmed nearly back-to-back, which meant Boyle's film would still be fresh in everyone's mind, creating expectations of what DaCosta's should be.

However, it wasn't a difficult choice for the confident DaCosta, who had her own ideas and didn't want to copy what Boyle had created. She told CNN, “I came in saying, this is my vision for it. And I also don’t want to make a Danny Boyle movie, because I don’t know how to do that." That wasn't disrespectful but a surety in her own talent, which is exactly why she was hired. It's an approach that shouldn't be a surprise after what the director did with Candyman five years ago.

Jordan Peele Hired Nia DaCosta To Direct 'Candyman'

In 2018, still in her 20s, Nia DaCosta wrote and directed her first film, Little Woods, starring Tessa Thompson and Lily James. Phenomenal reviews put DaCosta on the map to the point that, in the same year, despite Little Woods not being a horror film, she was hired by Jordan Peele to direct a sequel to Candyman. Talk about pressure!

1992's Candyman was arguably the best horror film of the first half of the decade at a time when the genre was struggling following the death of the 80s slasher boom. Its title and premise, about a killer with a hook for a hand who appears when you say his name in the mirror five times, sounds like another hack 'em up movie, but its plot, based on a Clive Barker story, is much deeper, with themes about class and racism, all while introducing a new genre icon played by Tony Todd.

The franchise quickly petered out by the end of the decade with two subpar sequels. That could have been it for Candyman, but in the 2010s, fans wanted more, and to see Todd put on the long coat one more time. However, when Candyman was finally released three years after it was announced, it wasn't Todd as the titular character. Normally, it would be the worst decision imaginable for a highly anticipated horror sequel, yet for Candyman, this was the best choice possible.

The 2021 'Candyman' Worked by Focusing on Story Over Nostalgia

The original Candyman may have been made by a white man (Bernard Rose), based on a story about another white man, but it's about the Black experience. That made hiring a Black filmmaker to create the 2021 version imperative, with DaCosta telling Empire, “There is definitely a sense of taking ownership, and telling a Black story about Black people." There was so much more to the director's hiring than the color of her skin, though. She earned it through sheer talent, with Peele raving to Empire about how beautiful, steady, and elegant her film was.

Nia DaCosta not only directed Candyman but co-wrote it with Peele and Win Rosenfield. After producers nearly turned the character into a parody with a proposed Candyman vs. Leprechaun crossover many years earlier, DaCosta's movie worked by remembering what Candyman stood for. It didn't need Tony Todd, or to be a simple slasher, because it honored the past, paying tribute to it without trying to be a fan-serviced copy. It hfs the horror we expected, with lots of scares and gore, but without forgetting the social commentary, which includes gentrification and police brutality. It was a genius move to have Candyman played by a different actor (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) as it builds on the concept of the character being a legend built on Black tragedies, therefore he can look like anyone. The 2021 Candyman, like Little Woods, is a deeper examination into humanity and societal woes. It's not about hook-handed killers and never was. Fans were hooked (pardon the pun), with Candyman doing well with critics and making $77 million worldwide.

The bold take on Candyman could have been an absolute disaster in someone else's hands, but DaCosta succeeded despite her career having just started. Navigating through the pressure prepared her for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which is, to no one's surprise, getting spectacular reviews. DaCosta is being praised for putting her own spin on a legend, crafting a nightmare that's familiar, yet one of her own making.

Candyman is available to watch on Peacock in the U.S.