Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in talks for Jordan Peele's new 'Candyman' film

"Aquaman" star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is in negotiations to star in filmmaker Jordan Peele's new "Candyman" film.

Peele, who won an Oscar for his directorial "Get Out", will co-write and co-produce the new project which will be a "retelling" of the 1992 horror film, reported Variety.

The original film featured Tony Todd as the hook-weilding supernatural killer who, according to a legend, appears after his name is called five times.

The film was directed by Bernard Rose from Clive Barker's script that the scribe adapted from his short story "The Forbidden".

MGM has partnered with Peele's Monkeypaw Productions and Win Rosenfeld to produce the new project.

The new film, being called a "spiritual sequel" to the original, will be directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Rosenfeld and Peele.

The story of the film returns to the same neighbourhood where the legend of Candyman began, a section of Chicago where the Cabrini-Green housing projects once stood.

The new film has a release date of June 12, 2020 with the production set to start soon.

Abdul-Mateen, 32, will also be seen in Peele's new horror film "Us", alongside Lupita Nyong'o and Winston Duke. The film is set to release in March 22 in the US.