Be warned. Thar be SPOILERS for IT below. So if you haven't yet seen the film, steer clear. Andy Muschietti's adaptation of Stephen King's "It" was released just days ago, and it's already raking in the box-office bucks and setting records, which is sure to be a welcome boost as Andy Muschietti, as well as his sister and producing partner Barbara Muschietti, prepare to give us the second chapter of the Losers Club's battle against the entity known as It (Bill Skarsgård).
IT comes to a close with the Losers Club defeating It, but knowing that he could be back, prompting the Losers to take a blood oath that they will return to Derry in 27 years if It does indeed come back and destroy him once and for all. The title appears on the screen, with "Chapter One" now appearing beneath it, setting the stage for what will a darker second chapter where the now adult members of the Losers Club must face It once more. Although the IT sequel will be set in the present day, director Andy Muschietti told Entertainment Weekly that the younger kids will still have a part to play as they turn up in the memories of their adult selves.
On the second movie, that dialogue between timelines will be more present. If we’re telling the story of adults, we are going to have flashbacks that take us back to the ‘80s and inform the story in the present day.
Barbara Muschietti adds that the sequel still doesn't have an official greenlight just yet, but that writing and development has been underway nonetheless. Hopefully Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema will get that ball rolling sooner rather than later, as Barbara states that Andy is anxious to get flashbacks with the young Losers Club filmed as they're "an important component in the next film" and the young actors are "growing very fast." The sequel will find the adult members of the Losers Club scattered as far away from Derry as they can get, all except one – Mike Hanlon (Chosen Jacobs).
Mike volunteers to stay behind in order to serve as a type of watchman, continuously keeping an eye out for It, as well as learning all he can about how to defeat him. Unfortunately, Andy Muschietti says that Mike will pay a high price for his devotion to the cause, saying that his idea for the character is quite a bit darker than it is in Stephen King's novel. "I want to make his character the one pivotal character who brings them all together, but staying in Derry took a toll with him. I want him to be a junkie actually," Muschietti said. "A librarian junkie. When the second movie starts, he’s a wreck. He’s not just the collector of knowledge of what Pennywise has been doing in Derry. He will bear the role of trying to figure out how to defeat him. The only way he can do that is to take drugs and alter his mind." Mike Hanlon's drug-induced exploration echos a part of Stephen King's novel that wound up being cut from the first movie, where the Losers Club go through a Native American ritual which helps bring them into contact with entities who can help them stop It.
It resonates with what the kids do when they go to the smokehouse in the Barrens. By inhaling these fumes from the fire they have visions of It, and the origin of It, and the falling fire in the sky that crashed into Derry millions of years ago. We’ve brought that to Mike, by the end of those 30 years Mike has figured out the Ritual of Chüd.
Just who will be playing the adult versions of the Losers Club hasn't yet been decided, but Jessica Chastain's name has been floating around in regards to the grown-up version of Beverly (Sophia Lillis). Chastain did star in Andy Muschietti's MAMA, and in an interview with Variety, Muschietti said that "Jessi is an amazing actress and very good friend and I would love her to play Beverly." After Barbara chimed in to say that Jessica "loves" the movie, Andy added that "Yeah, she loves the movie and it feels like the planets are aligned in that sense, but we still have to make that happen. There are a lot of ideas for the rest of the cast that I’m playing with, but it’s a bit too premature to say those names right now."
IT is now playing in theaters, so make sure to check out a review from our own Eric Walkuski and make sure to let us know what YOU thought of the film as well.