The book opens with the death of six-year-old child George “Georgie” Denbrough, who is chasing a paper boat down a gutter when Pennywise the Clown rips his arm off; leaving him to bleed to death.
It’s more than a little distressing – and Muschietti has not shied away from it in the new horror film, which is out next month.
“Well, the Georgie death is pretty gruesome,” he told Collider.
Asked how he approached it, he added: “In this story, there is no confirmation that Georgie is dead.
“He’s attacked by Pennywise, and he’s missing an arm, and he tries to get away from the sewer, like he’s dragged into it again, leaving a trail of blood, but his body is never found.
“And that’s what prompts Bill, that’s basically Bill’s motivation in the story, is finding Georgie alive.”
Muschietti had also spoken out about the omission of another key scene from the book: showing group sex.
“I don’t think it was really needed in the movie, apart that it was very hard to allow us to shoot an orgy in the movie,” he said.
“So, I didn’t think it was necessary because the story itself is a bit of a journey, and it illustrates that.”
It is on course to be a big box office success: its estimated gross has jumped from $50 million to $60 million over its opening weekend.
The movie’s out on September 8.