It remake producer Dan Lin compares the film to ’80s classics

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Filming is well underway on the first part of MAMA director Andy Muschietti's two-part adaptation of Stephen King's epic novel IT, which centered on 

seven children known as The Losers Club who come face to face with life problems, bullies and a monster that takes the shape of a clown called Pennywise. 

The first film will tell the story of the characters battling Pennywise as children, while the second will be about the rematch they have with the evil clown as adults.

Pictures from the set have revealed that the childhood half of the story takes place in 1989, so it's quite fitting that producer Dan Lin referenced some '80s classics, including the Stephen King adaptation STAND BY ME (pictured above), while discussing IT in a recent interview with Collider.

It's very much an homage to '80s movies, whether it's classic Stephen King or even Spielberg . Think about Stand By Me as far as the bonding amongst the kids. But there is a really scary element in Pennywise. … You're catching me at a really interesting time because we've been shooting mostly the kids' work and now Pennywise is starting. We clearly had a great dynamic amongst the kids. Really great chemistry is always a challenging thing with a movie like It because you're casting kids who don't have a ton of experience, but it ended up being really natural. Each kid, like a Goonies or Stand By Me, has a very specific personality and they’re forming the Losers Club obviously. And now finally the evil force is coming into our movie. We've spent a few months getting the kids to bond and now they’re going to fight this evil, scary clown."

Lin also said that the style of the 1983-set Netflix series Stranger Things is "a great analogy" for what they're doing with IT, which is interesting not only because Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard plays one of the Losers Club members, but also because Stranger Things creators The Duffer Brothers have said that they developed the idea for the show after pursuing and missing out on the IT writing/directing gig.

As Lin mentioned, the new IT's Pennywise is now reporting to set, with Bill Skarsgard taking over the role that was famously played by Tim Curry in the 1990 mini-series adaptation of the story. Lin says that Skarsgard won the role by coming in with a different spin on the character.

We wanted someone who created a Pennywise character that would stand on its own and Bill came in and created this character that frankly freaked us out."

Wolfhard and Skarsgard are joined in the cast by Jaeden Lieberher, Sophia Lillis, Jack Dylan Grazer, Wyatt Oleff, Chosen Jacobs, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Owen Teague, Nicholas Hamilton, and Javier Botet.

IT part one is scheduled to be released on September 8, 2017.

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