Candyman Likely the Scrapped License Referenced by Dead by Daylight's Game Director

In a recent interview, Dead by Daylight Game Director Mathieu Cote revealed that the team had been in talks for a major collaboration that ultimately fell through, despite both parties being interested. He shared, “We’ve had conversations with people that say, ‘No, we’re not interested,’ which is completely fine. It’s VERY rare that both parties are interested yet not find that common ground.” He went on to say that the license lost was not the one fans might think and was lost for reasons different from what people expect.

With the recent exclusion of licenses like Friday the 13th, Predator, For Honor, and IT, for me, based on past rumors and teasers, I believe the missed collaboration was none other than Candyman.

Why Candyman?

If you’ve been following me since 2019, you’ll remember that there were several signs pointing toward a Candyman chapter coming to Dead by Daylight. Here are the key clues that led fans, myself included, to believe this collaboration was imminent:

Discord Teasers: As the fourth anniversary of Dead by Daylight approached, Behaviour Interactive added small but significant changes to their official Discord server. Bees started appearing next to the names of every chat room and roles, with the word “bee” even appearing as part of the labels—a clear nod to Candyman, whose lore involves bees.
Tony Todd’s Tease: The actor who portrays Candyman, Tony Todd, tweeted that fans who wanted to see Candyman in a horror video game “just wait” This strongly hinted at a potential Dead by Daylight collaboration.
Voice Recording Hints: Todd also mentioned in another tweet that he was recording voice lines for two new projects. While one project was confirmed a movie, fans speculated the second was for Dead by Daylight, since voice lines for killers are often a part of new chapter releases.
Community Manager’s Tweet: One of the community managers for Dead by Daylight posted a cryptic tweet, intentionally misspelling the word “be” as “bee” and using the word “sweet“. Given the bee motif and honey-related references tied to Candyman, this tweet added to the growing speculation.
Anniversary Banner Hints: The fourth-anniversary banner featured a golden number 4, which could be seen as a reference to honey, a core element of Candyman‘s character. This subtle nod was similar to how the third-anniversary banner hinted at Ghost Face, as the “3” was styled after the “Scream 3” film logo.
Tony Todd’s Social Media Activity: Todd consistently interacted with Dead by Daylight fans on Twitter, liking posts where they expressed excitement about playing as Candyman. He even liked a post from LeaksByDaylight about the potential Candyman chapter.
Social Media Follows: Tony Todd began following Dead by Daylight on Twitter. Interestingly, this also happened with the actors from Stranger Things shortly before that collaboration was officially announced.
Film Release Timeline: Originally, the new Candyman movie was slated for release on June 12, 2020, coinciding with Dead by Daylight‘s anniversary chapter period. This timing seemed too perfect to be a coincidence, further suggesting that the chapter was meant to tie in with the movie’s release.
Reveal Date Hint: Tony Todd liked a tweet where a user wrote that they couldn’t wait to play as Candyman starting from May 26. May 26 was the date Behaviour Interactive had announced for the reveal of a new chapter in collaboration with an “iconic classic license”.

About all this, here are some screenshots from my archive taken from old articles:

Why Did the Collaboration Fail?

One of the likely reasons the Candyman collaboration never came to fruition is the repeated delays of the film. The movie’s release date was pushed multiple times due to various factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially set for June 12, 2020, it was delayed to September 25, then to October 16, and finally to a generic 2021 release. It was eventually released on August 27, 2021.

Given the constant delays, it’s possible that Behaviour Interactive was asked to postpone the chapter multiple times to align with the film’s eventual release. This likely interfered with their strict development timeline, as Dead by Daylight operates on a carefully planned release schedule. The team works on each chapter for about nine months, often juggling multiple chapters in development simultaneously. The constant shifting of Candyman‘s release date may have disrupted these plans, and both parties might have eventually agreed to abandon the collaboration altogether.

The overwhelming number of clues and hints make it difficult to dismiss the idea that Candyman was the collaboration Cote referenced in his interview. With teasers from official channels, interactions from Tony Todd himself, and timed hints around the movie’s release, it seemed like a perfect match. However, the delays surrounding the film’s release might have been too much for Behaviour Interactive to handle, ultimately leading to the collapse of the partnership.

While nothing is officially confirmed, the Candyman collaboration stands as one of the most mysterious missed opportunities in Dead by Daylight history. Fans can only speculate about what could have been.