Candyman and Halloween Kills delayed amid Universal pandemic release shuffle

Nia DaCosta's Candyman and David Gordon Green's Halloween Kills have officially been delayed as Universal continues to reshuffle its theatrical release schedule amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Variety, Candyman is delayed by three weeks, buzzing from Sep 25 to Oct. 16. The horror project was originally supposed to open last month. The 16th was being saved for Halloween Kills, which is now pushed off by an entire year to Oct. 15, 2021 — the date initially carved out for Halloween Ends. As a result, the slasher trilogy capper won't arrive until Oct. 14, 2022.

To help make the Halloween news go down a little easier, the studio released a 30-second teaser for Kills, as well as a statement from director David Gordon Green and producer John Carpenter.

The Forever Purge also received a new date of July 9, 2021. Originally scheduled to hit theaters this  Friday (July 10), the Everardo Gout-directed movie was indefinitely pushed off in May. Universal previously postponed the openings for Fast & Furious 9, Sing 2, Minions: Rise of Gru, and Wicked. 

Movie theaters have remained shuttered since March, but hope to reopen for business by late July/early August. Warner Bros.' Tenet (Aug. 12) and Disney's Mulan (Aug. 21) are being eyed as the tentpoles that can save the global box office, although both have been the victims of reshuffling as well.