Andy Muschietti Gives First Details on the ‘IT’ Sequel

The box office success of IT is more than anyone expected, so much so that a sequel is already being discussed and the film has only been released for a few days. However, with Stephen King himself giving IT a thumbs up, we aren’t surprised that the film is such a hit.

A lot of us are still recovering from the fear instilled in us by the film we saw days ago, but that doesn’t stop us from being excited about the next chapter for Pennywise and the losers club.

Director Andy Muschietti spoke with EW about some details for the IT sequel and gave some pretty incredible insight on what we should expect from chapter 2. Starting off with a great deal of ‘kid’ flashbacks.

‘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.’

He went on to say that the kid flashbacks won’t be brief moments in time. In fact, they’re integral to the plot.

‘They’re a very big part of the action.’

The sequel will be set in the present day with the losers club reuniting to take Pennywise down. For the flashbacks to work, Barbara Muschietti, director Andy Muschietti’s sister, says it’s important to begin filming soon.

‘The hope is we’ll find the best way soon, because it’s also important for Andy to get flashbacks with the kids, who are growing very fast. They are an important component in the next film.’

Another component will be adult actors, which we anticipated, but they’re already discussing which route to take in casting.

Should they cast already known actors and actresses or should they go with up and comers as to make the roles feel more genuine. Perhaps having actors without a lengthy history would make it feel all the more real.

He also has a wicked idea for Mike in the second chapter. He wants to make him a much darker character than he’s portrayed as in the book. In fact, he’s considering making him an addict.

‘My idea of Mike in the second movie is quite darker from the book. 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. A librarian junkie. When the second movie starts, he’s a wreck.’

He went as far as to explain why Mike would have turned into an addict as time went on, it’s the only way he could silence his busy mind.

‘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.’

We are absolutely on board for this character arc and we can’t wait to see who is chosen to bring it to life.

If you haven’t seen the film yet, or looked up the premise online, this next piece of information could very well be considered a spoiler – we recommend turning around here.

So, one loser doesn’t make it to the big terrifying reunion. It’s not just that he doesn’t make it, he takes his own life because he’d rather cease to exist than to come face to face with Pennywise once more.

That character is Stan Uris and his future is already written, a big part of that being when he met Pennywise face to face and was traumatized in an evil way.

‘There is something in the future for him, taking his own life, that finds its seed in this film. He is the one who doesn’t want to accept what’s going on. And being the one who didn’t want to participate he gets the worst part.”

You can read the entire interview over on Entertainment Weekly and while the sequel is obviously some time away, you can go sit in fear and terror through chapter 1 again and see if you experience it any differently now.