attribute their hardships to this apparently-mythical figure. When she discredits the legend, analyzing examples of his history and participating in the arrest of a criminal using the Candyman legend to intimidate the locals, Candyman appears and frames her for another series of murders to perpetuate the public's fear of him. It is hinted that Helen is the reincarnation of Candyman's lover. He plots to have himself, Helen, and kidnapped baby Anthony McCoy immolated in a bonfire, but Helen escapes him and sacrifices herself to rescue Anthony. With Candyman apparently destroyed, Helen becomes a vengeful spirit and continues his behavior. In Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh, set three years after Candyman in 1995, he appears in New Orleans. Candyman encounters Annie Tarrant (a descendant of his and Caroline's daughter Isabel) after she summons him. The movie explores how he meets Caroline Sullivan during his lifetime (as the artist Daniel Robitaille) before he is murdered and becomes Candyman. In Candyman: Day of the Dead, set twenty-five years after Farewell to the Flesh, in 2020, Candyman appears in Los Angeles during Day of the Dead celebrations, encountering Annie's adult daughter Caroline. In Candyman (2021), set twenty-seven years after Candyman (1992), in 2019, Candyman is summoned once more by a now adult Anthony McCoy. It is revealed that the legend of Candyman has survived and evolved by being recontextualized throughout the years around similar tragic murders of African-Americans killed by racist authorities in ways that resemble his (Daniel Robitaille's) death, and that these figures become part of "the hive" of Candyman. The Candyman before Anthony was a mentally disabled man named Sherman Fields, who was accused of placing razor blades in children's candy before being beaten to death by the police for it, although he turned out to be innocent. Eventually, a disfigured and catatonic Anthony is gunned down by the police, thereby enabling Candyman to assimilate Anthony and renew his legend. Other characters depicted as part of the Candyman hive include Anthony Crawford, William Bell, Samuel Evans, George Stinney, Helen Lyle, James Byrd, Jr., and Gil Cartwright (in deleted scenes). Development Concept and creation When Tony Todd and co-star Virginia Madsen were cast as Candyman and Helen, original Candyman director Bernard Rose gave them free rein to flesh out their characters' backstories as part of the creative process. Rose said, "The Candyman is not black in Clive's story. In fact, the whole back