‘Candy Cane Lane’ director Reginald Hudlin on working with Eddie Murphy

The holiday comedy adventure premieres on Prime Video this Friday.

“Candy Cane Lane” is on the way. The brand-new holiday film reunites director Reginald Hudlin with actor Eddie Murphy for a Christmas adventure that hits Prime Video on Dec. 1. TheGrio caught up with Hudlin ahead of the film’s release, and he broke down what drew him to the project, working once again with Murphy and what sets “Candy Cane Lane” apart.

As theGrio previously reported, “Candy Cane Lane” is a holiday comedy adventure starring Murphy, Tracee Ellis Ross, Robin Thede, Chris Redd, Genneya Walton, Danielle Pinnock and more. Murphy stars as Chris Carver, a father who, after signing a deal with a mischievous elf named Pepper, must “race against the clock to break Pepper’s spell, battle deviously magical characters, and save Christmas for everyone.”

Director Reginald Hudlin said he always wanted to make a Christmas movie. His “Candy Cane Lane” arrives on Prime Video on Dec. 1. Above, Hudlin attends the premiere of Apple TV’s “Sidney” at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in September 2022 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

“I grew up loving Christmas specials, Christmas movies and I always wanted to make one of my own,” Hudlin told us. “I really wanted to do something that was original. Now, there’s almost sort of a glut of Christmas movies, so the trick is: How do you break out of the pack? How do you make something distinctive?”

“The minute I read this script I was like, ‘Oh my gosh,’” he gushed. “I said, ‘This is the movie for me.” Once Murphy was attached, he quipped, he was ready to “start on Monday.”

The film presented an exciting opportunity for the filmmaker and star to reunite, having first worked together in the classic 1992 film “Boomerang.” Reuniting 30 years after their first collaboration was all about timing, Hudlin told theGrio.

“We had been looking for something else to do together for a while,” he explained. “It takes a while to find something you are both in sync on and this is a no-brainer. We’re both family guys, we love Christmas, so we both very much identified with the characters and the story.”

“I love to surround Eddie with an A-plus cast, and that’s what I feel like we have in this movie,” he continued. “We have some of the best comedic actors you can find anywhere! Tracee Ellis Ross, Nick Offerman, Robin Thede, Chris Redd, D.C. Young Fly … it’s an embarrassment of riches.”