PRE-BUILD INVENTORY · OCTOBER 20, 2026

The dates.
The evidence.

Candyman: research table, product / access matches and inspection gaps.

VERIFICATION STATUS

Broad coverage.
Open questions.

14 catalogue records; 7 indexed works. Shared branch points, embedded scenes and anthology containers are distinguished.

A research edition, not a completed full-interior audit. A missing date remains an inspection gap until the actual work has been checked.

Inventory / contradiction checks

Pre-build research table produced before page generation; four completed films checked against studio / official creator archives and film bibliography. All four remain visible in one inclusive screen chronology.
1992 → 1995 three-year relation; five-year epilogue; 2019 revival versus 2021 release; provisional 2020 Day of the Dead versus 1999 release; year-long closing investigation considered separately.
Exact subtitle / release / setting distinctions reviewed. Day of the Dead’s calendar is explicitly estimated because direct date-caption evidence remains unavailable.
Original Liverpool prose and audio share a story position. All relevant Volume Five editions distinguished from the unrelated Volumes One–Three omnibus. Historical readings listed without claiming the current recording is the same performance.
Official unfinished-comic archive checked: planned Forbidden adaptation not invented as a released comic. Unsupported film-novelization claim not converted into a fake title / Amazon match.
Director-posted 2020 narrative teaser and creator-hosted 2021 puppet film distinguished; embedded original film sampled, but full teaser inspection remains open.
Amazon actual collection contents, second-film Blu-ray, third-film DVD and In the Flesh paperback titles checked. No sweets documentary, toy, unrelated game or wrong comic sold as a narrative match.

Verification still required

Complete source-story text and full film / supplement interiors not directly inspected. Publisher excerpt control did not expose readable story pages. No false claim that the prose has no printed date.
Legacy sequel exact calendar props and reported twenty-five-year interval require direct film verification. Estimated 2020 is a disclosed working chronology; later evidence can refine it.
Director’s original 2020 teaser URL recovered, but complete tweet video not directly inspected. Creator’s related 2:32 film is accessible and sampled; the two cuts are not asserted identical.
No released Forbidden comic or separate film novelization was verified. New bibliographic or publisher evidence should be checked before adding these as released works.

RESEARCH TABLE BEFORE PAGE BUILD

Every indexed record

Download source data

Compare story date, canon, continuity, actual inspection and edition / viewing match. Scroll horizontally for all columns.

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Entry	Media / release	Story date	Canon / continuity	Placement / inspection	Sources	Edition / viewing match
Daniel Robitaille — screen legend / origin recollectionsThe murdered artist becomes a figure of supernatural vengeance. · Embedded segment	Film segmentReleased 1992 / 1995 / 2021	1890; origin recalled in the filmsRelative / stated chronology	Confirmed canonFilms — inclusive screen chronology	Optional historical segment, not a separate feature. The 1890 screen-history anchor is supplied by the official collection’s distribution description; different films reshape the telling. This is not the original Liverpool story’s backstory.Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected	Universal collection — actual Amazon edition Universal — Candyman (1992)Barker’s official archive — Farewell to the Flesh	Candyman 2-Movie Collection — DVDVerified containing edition: Candyman (1992) and Candyman (2021), two discs. This is not the second and third films. No availability / seller condition promised.
Candyman (2021) — Sherman Fields prologueA boy’s encounter with Sherman becomes part of Cabrini-Green’s legend. · Embedded segment	Film segmentReleased 2021	1977Relative / stated chronology	Confirmed canonFilms — inclusive screen chronology	Substantial opening flashback, separated from the film’s 2019 main narrative. Year cross-checked in contemporary film inspection; not claimed as a directly inspected title card.Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected	Washington Post — opening and main-story years Universal — Candyman (2021)	Candyman 2-Movie Collection — DVDVerified containing edition: Candyman (1992) and Candyman (2021), two discs. This is not the second and third films. No availability / seller condition promised.
Candyman — Nia DaCosta / Manual Cinema narrative teaserShadow puppetry connects the legend with a history of racist violence.	Short filmReleased 2020	19th–20th centuries; historical and legendary vignettesEra known; exact sequence open	Promotional onlyFilms — inclusive screen chronology	An anthology-like historical window, placed with the background to the modern films. No single 2020 story date inferred from upload, and real victims are not casually declared fictional canon. Exact vignette dates await direct inspection of this teaser cut.Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected	Director’s original animated teaser Barker archive — director’s animated teaser statement Contemporary record — June 17, 2020 puppet teaser	Watch filmmaker’s shortExact original director-posted teaser. X may require sign-in. No standalone Amazon release verified; Manual Cinema’s related official film is a separate viewing destination.Watch creator’s related puppet filmCreator-hosted 2:32 film, sampled directly. Exact equivalence to the 2020 teaser not asserted.
Candyman — theatrical / unrated versionsA graduate student’s urban-legend research brings her face to face with Candyman.	FilmReleased 1992	1992; Helen’s Chicago investigationRelative / stated chronology	Confirmed canonFilms — inclusive screen chronology	Modern source-film anchor used by sequel chronology. Edited / unrated versions remain this story; older legends and Helen’s later retelling are not separate modern adventures.Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected	Universal — Candyman (1992)Barker’s official archive — Candyman / Bernard Rose interviews Candyman character — legacy sequel intervals	Candyman 2-Movie Collection — DVDVerified containing edition: Candyman (1992) and Candyman (2021), two discs. This is not the second and third films. No availability / seller condition promised.
Farewell to the Flesh — Coleman’s earlier deathAn earlier family death shapes Annie and Ethan’s predicament. · Embedded segment	Film segmentReleased 1995	est. 1994; one year before the sequel’s main crisisEvidence-based estimate	Disputed canonFilms — inclusive screen chronology	Optional backstory, using the reported one-year interval. Status concerns integration with the revival, not whether this was an official film scene.Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected	Farewell to the Flesh — plot / five-year epilogue cross-check Barker’s official archive — Farewell to the Flesh	Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh — Blu-rayExact Amazon title checked. Corresponding second film, not a box set including the first or third; confirm seller condition / region.
Candyman: Farewell to the FleshAnnie Tarrant uncovers a family connection to the haunting in New Orleans.	FilmReleased 1995	1995; Mardi Gras, three years after the first filmRelative / stated chronology	Disputed canonFilms — inclusive screen chronology	Original-trilogy sequel retained in the inclusive film timeline. Its three-year relationship supplies the modern position. The 2021 revival bypasses this genealogy; their shared applicability is disputed, rather than this official sequel being erased.Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected	Barker’s official archive — Farewell to the Flesh AFI — Farewell to the Flesh release / production record Candyman character — legacy sequel intervals Nia DaCosta / Yahya Abdul-Mateen II — ending interview	Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh — Blu-rayExact Amazon title checked. Corresponding second film, not a box set including the first or third; confirm seller condition / region.
Farewell to the Flesh — Caroline’s childhood epilogueAnnie warns her daughter about a dangerous name. · Embedded segment	Film segmentReleased 1995	est. 2000; five years after the main storyEvidence-based estimate	Disputed canonFilms — inclusive screen chronology	A real time jump kept separate as an optional segment. Five-year interval is reported in the film synopsis; a complete frame / dialogue verification remains open.Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected	Farewell to the Flesh — plot / five-year epilogue cross-check Candyman character — legacy sequel intervals	Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh — Blu-rayExact Amazon title checked. Corresponding second film, not a box set including the first or third; confirm seller condition / region.
Candyman (2021) — Anthony & Brianna’s main storyAnthony’s art draws him into the legend and its surviving witnesses.	FilmReleased 2021	2019; modern Chicago revivalRelative / stated chronology	Confirmed canonFilms — inclusive screen chronology	Story year explicitly reported as 2019 in contemporary film inspection. Release was delayed to 2021. This is a direct continuation of the original, not a retelling placed at 1992; the older sequels remain visible with qualified status.Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected	Universal — Candyman (2021)TheWrap — contemporary film inspection Washington Post — opening and main-story years Nia DaCosta / Yahya Abdul-Mateen II — ending interview	Candyman 2-Movie Collection — DVDVerified containing edition: Candyman (1992) and Candyman (2021), two discs. This is not the second and third films. No availability / seller condition promised.
Candyman — Manual Cinema’s shadow-puppet filmPuppet storytelling gives visible form to the legend’s accumulated history. · Embedded segment	Short filmReleased 2021	2019 framing; 19th–20th-century stories recalledRelative / stated chronology	Confirmed canonFilms — inclusive screen chronology	Creator-hosted 2:32 film indexed alongside the revival. Earlier vignettes are recalled history, not all events literally happening in 2019. Not counted again as an extra feature or automatically equated to the 2020 teaser.Creator player started and sample narrative imagery visually inspected; not a complete frame-by-frame date audit.	Manual Cinema — original puppet film / production page Universal — Candyman (2021)	Watch on creator’s siteOriginal creator-hosted Vimeo film played; a legitimate free narrative destination.
Candyman (2021) — alternate ending / deleted & extended scenesSupplemental scenes offer alternate versions of the same crisis. · Embedded segment	Film supplementsReleased 2021 home video	2019 source-story positionRelative / stated chronology	Non-canon connectedFilms — inclusive screen chronology	Grouped with the containing film, not made into an independently dated sequel. Deleted / alternate material is distinct from the released ending; full supplements not inspected in this audit.Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected	Universal — Candyman (2021)Universal collection — actual Amazon edition	Candyman 2-Movie Collection — DVDVerified containing edition: Candyman (1992) and Candyman (2021), two discs. This is not the second and third films. No availability / seller condition promised.
Candyman: Day of the DeadCaroline McKeever confronts the family legend in Los Angeles.	FilmReleased 1999	est. 2020; reported twenty-five-year sequel intervalEvidence-based estimate	Disputed canonFilms — inclusive screen chronology	Estimated from the reported twenty-five years after the 1995 story, not from its 1999 release. References vary and no exact calendar caption was inspected. It remains in the best-supported position, with revival-continuity status qualified.Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected	Barker’s official archive — Day of the Dead Candyman character — legacy sequel intervals Day of the Dead — release / chronology cross-check Day of the Dead — dialogue transcript	Candyman: Day of the Dead — DVDExact Amazon title checked. Corresponding 1999 production with Donna D’Errico; fictional date is later. Confirm selected format and seller condition.
Day of the Dead — investigation epilogueThe official explanation of the killings is announced after an investigation. · Embedded segment	Film segmentReleased 1999	est. 2021; one year after the main murdersEvidence-based estimate	Disputed canonFilms — inclusive screen chronology	Dialogue transcription explicitly describes a year-long investigation. The year is derived from the provisional 2020 main-story anchor; the interval is firmer than that calendar.Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected	Day of the Dead — dialogue transcript Day of the Dead — release / chronology cross-check	Candyman: Day of the Dead — DVDExact Amazon title checked. Corresponding 1999 production with Donna D’Errico; fictional date is later. Confirm selected format and seller condition.
The Forbidden — original short storyHelen investigates an urban legend on a Liverpool housing estate.	Short storyReleased 1985; subsequent reprints	Late 20th century; contemporary LiverpoolRelative / stated chronology	Confirmed canonThe Forbidden — original Liverpool story & audio	Original rendition retained separately because the screen adaptation relocates and substantially changes the legend. Contemporary period is supported; 1985 publication is not asserted as an exact fictional year. Full text not acquired from the publisher sample.Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected	Sphere / Hachette — Books of Blood Volume 5 contents Barker’s official bibliography — The Forbidden editions Barker’s official bibliography — Volume Five / In the Flesh Universal — Candyman official companion guide	In the Flesh — Clive Barker paperback, Books of Blood Volume FiveExact Amazon title / author / Paperback format checked. Containing collection for The Forbidden; it also includes unrelated stories. Not a film novelization and not Volumes One–Three.
The Forbidden — unabridged audio editionsNarrated editions present Barker’s original story in audio.	AudiobookReleased 1996 / 2000 / 2013 readings	Late 20th century; same Liverpool storyRelative / stated chronology	Confirmed canonThe Forbidden — original Liverpool story & audio	Same story position as the printed text. Known editions: In the Flesh (Dillinger Steele), The Reel Stuff anthology (Vanessa Maroney), and Crossroad’s Volume Five ensemble. These readings are not new narrative sequels.Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected	Barker’s official audio bibliography Audible — Crossroad Press Volume Five Sphere / Hachette — Books of Blood Volume 5 contents	View matching audiobookExact current containing Crossroad audio edition identified on Audible UK. The older recordings differ; no Amazon US ASIN or marketplace tracking ID invented. Printed containing edition is separately available in this group.

COVERAGE BOUNDARIES

Checked beyond the main stories

Comic

The Forbidden — planned Steve Niles / John K. Snyder III graphic adaptation

Unfinished project; not a verified released issue

Official archive places this 32-page project among unfinished graphic adaptations. No legal published issue / preview located. An unsupported claim of a 1992 Candyman movie comic is not enough to invent an entry or sell an unrelated Books of Blood comic.

Barker’s official archive — unfinished graphic adaptations Barker’s official bibliography — The Forbidden editions

Novel

Supposed Candyman film novelization

Unverified product claim

No separate author, ISBN and publisher record verified. The actual source story / In the Flesh tie-in reprints are included; a movie-cover reissue is not proof of a new novelization.

Barker’s official bibliography — The Forbidden editions Barker’s official bibliography — Volume Five / In the Flesh Barker’s official archive — Candyman / Bernard Rose interviews

Literature / film

Candyman IV winter story / Midnight Meat Train sequel / Leprechaun crossover

Not released narrative entries

Historical development ideas are not completed films. Nor are actor casting, fan games or custom fighting-game characters proof of an official narrative game. No released licensed Candyman story game, TV series or manga verified in this audit.

Barker’s official archive — Day of the Dead Barker’s official archive — unfinished graphic adaptations TheWrap — contemporary film inspection

Reference / promotion

Companion guide, making-of films, scores, interviews and standard trailers

Sources and editions, not extra adventures

Official guide and production documentaries provide research context. Standard feature clips repeat the containing film; separately released puppet narrative is indexed. Pure soundtrack / interview releases are not assigned fictional years.

Universal — Candyman official companion guide Universal — Candyman (2021)Manual Cinema — original puppet film / production page Director’s original animated teaser

SOURCE REGISTER

Primary sources first.

PrimaryUniversal — Candyman (1992)
Official film synopsis, release and edition inventory. Modern story is Helen’s Chicago investigation; subtitle variants and unrated cuts do not create new years.
PrimaryUniversal — Candyman (2021)
Official direct continuation’s premise and editions. Page distinguishes 2020 copyright from 2021 release; neither is evidence of the fictional 2019 setting. Deleted / extended scenes and alternate ending are edition supplements, not another released sequel.
PrimaryBarker’s official archive — Candyman / Bernard Rose interviews
Creator interviews discuss adapting The Forbidden and moving the story to Chicago. The source story is not a novelization written after the film.
PrimaryBarker’s official archive — Farewell to the Flesh
Official creator archive confirms released sequel and origins material. Does not itself certify every modern calendar caption.
PrimaryBarker’s official archive — Day of the Dead
Official archive confirms third released film. Barker’s negative opinion and lack of creative involvement are not, by themselves, grounds for excluding an official sequel.
Film archiveAFI — Farewell to the Flesh release / production record
Independent film bibliography / credits; used to identify the 1995 film, not to equate release date automatically with setting.
Secondary / film synopsisFarewell to the Flesh — plot / five-year epilogue cross-check
Modern sequel, earlier Coleman death, Daniel’s past and five-year epilogue. Interior film frames not inspected in full; calendar arithmetic is qualified.
Secondary / chronologyCandyman character — legacy sequel intervals
Reports the three-year first-to-second and twenty-five-year second-to-third intervals. Used provisionally; the third film’s exact calendar needs direct verification.
Secondary / film referenceDay of the Dead — release / chronology cross-check
Older descriptions place it in 2020, while calendar references vary. Retain estimated 2020 from the reported twenty-five-year interval, rather than treat the 1999 release as its setting.
Secondary / dialogue transcriptDay of the Dead — dialogue transcript
Transcript checked for elapsed-time clues: the closing investigation lasts a year. This is a secondary transcription, not a verified original screenplay or full frame inspection. It does not independently establish an exact 2020 title card.
Secondary / contemporary reviewTheWrap — contemporary film inspection
Explicitly distinguishes main story in 2019 Chicago from pandemic-delayed 2021 release. Also notes the two earlier sequels are bypassed.
Secondary / contemporary film inspectionWashington Post — opening and main-story years
1977 prologue; 2019 main story. Used only for that chronology cross-check, not a substitute for complete film inspection.
Primary creator interviewNia DaCosta / Yahya Abdul-Mateen II — ending interview
Director / actor interview confirms direct original-film connection and discusses the new incarnation. Introductory “30 years” is rounded; it is not used to replace the more specific 2019 setting.
PrimarySphere / Hachette — Books of Blood Volume 5 contents
Publisher confirms The Forbidden is in Volume Five. Read Excerpt link checked, but browser did not provide readable story pages; no claim of a complete text inspection.
PrimaryBarker’s official bibliography — The Forbidden editions
Summer 1985 Fantasy Tales appearance and later complete reprints listed. Those are formats / containing editions of one story, not a succession of new fictional events. No published Forbidden comic listed.
PrimaryBarker’s official bibliography — Volume Five / In the Flesh
US title In the Flesh is Volume Five; it is not the unrelated title story alone. Do not send readers to the common Volumes One–Three omnibus as if it contained The Forbidden.
PrimaryBarker’s official audio bibliography
Audio editions verified: 1996 In the Flesh narrated by Dillinger Steele; The Forbidden in 2000 The Reel Stuff narrated by Vanessa Maroney; 2013 Crossroad Volume Five, ensemble narrators. These are readings of the source story, not new Chicago sequels.
PrimaryAudible — Crossroad Press Volume Five
Containing unabridged audio edition; official retailer synopsis identifies The Forbidden as first story. No Amazon US audio ASIN inferred by changing a UK marketplace identifier.
PrimaryBarker’s official archive — unfinished graphic adaptations
Other Books of Blood as Graphic Novels section identifies Steve Niles’s planned 32-page The Forbidden adaptation with John K. Snyder III attached. It is in the unfinished-project archive; not invented as a published 1992 movie comic.
PrimaryManual Cinema — original puppet film / production page
Creator-hosted original 2:32 puppet film played and sample images inspected. Credit / image catalogue includes Helen, Anthony and historical imagery. This hosted film is not automatically identified as the same cut as the earlier 2020 teaser.
PrimaryDirector’s original animated teaser
Exact director-posted June 2020 narrative teaser URL recovered from Barker’s official archive. Current X playback may require sign-in; the full original tweet video was not directly inspected.
PrimaryBarker archive — director’s animated teaser statement
Separately links the director’s animated trailer and the later standard trailer; credits Manual Cinema. The site’s 2020 title reflects the then-planned film release, not proof of a separate 2020 feature.
Secondary / contemporary release recordContemporary record — June 17, 2020 puppet teaser
Contemporaneous record of the separately released shadow-puppet narrative, not merely a compilation of existing movie footage.
PrimaryUniversal — Candyman official companion guide
Official reference guide contextualizes the Liverpool source and Chicago adaptation. A nonfiction companion, not an additional sequel or story product.
Official distribution / product inspectionUniversal collection — actual Amazon edition
Exact product title and description read. Two films are Bernard Rose’s 1992 original and DaCosta’s 2021 film, not Farewell to the Flesh / Day of the Dead. Description anchors the screen legend to 1890.

The dates.The evidence.

Broad coverage.Open questions.