Stephen King’s It crawled back onto the scene in 2017, when the first of two movie remakes came out. The second film, based like the first on King’s 1,100-page 1986 best seller, isn’t a sequel — it’s a continuation of the plot, taking place 27 years after the first film. For It Chapter 2, members of the Losers Club from the first film have been recast with adult actors, though the young actors will also appear in flashback.
You might want to skip the giant Icee when you see It Chapter 2. MovieWeb reported that the movie is 2 hours and 49 minutes long. (And 11 seconds, but who’s counting?) That may seem long, but director Andy Muschietti said “the pacing is very good” and “nobody who’s seen the movie has any complaint.”
Need something fresh? On Aug. 15, an IMAX teaser came out featuring plenty of blood and scares.
The final trailer for It Chapter 2 debuted at San Diego Comic-Con ahead of its online debut.
Watch this:
It Chapter 2 Comic-Con trailer reveals what the Losers…
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A teaser trailer released in May focuses on a grown-up Bev Marsh, played by Jessica Chastain, as she learned that sometimes, you can’t (and shouldn’t) go home again.
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It Chapter 2 trailer shows Pennywise coming back
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Release date, production info
The movie was filmed in the Toronto area in the late summer and early fall of 2018. Canadian film buffs took photos of the action and shared them online. In August, the Northumberland News shared a shot of Pennywise perched on the shoulder of a Paul Bunyan statue in Memorial Park in Port Hope, Ontario. Paul and Pennywise make for a disturbing duo to be sure.
Cast: Who’s who?
Plot news, rumors and theories
Readers know what happens: The plot is no secret to anyone who’s read King’s terrifying novel. The Losers Club of misfit kids who fought killer clown Pennywise learn he’s back 27 years later, and they’re the only ones who can attempt to stop him. The King novel wove the two age groups together, but the movies separate out the kids fighting Pennywise in the first film from their adult versions doing the same (with some likely flashbacks). And there were some changes to King’s novel in the first film, so there may yet be some surprises, even for loyal King readers.
Two grim scenes: Screenwriter Gary Dauberman told The Hollywood Reporter in May 2019 that two disturbing scenes from King’s book would be included in the film. One involves a hate crime against a gay character whose attackers are being influenced by Pennywise, and the other involves a sad chapter in adult Bev’s personal life.
Mysterious house: In a spoilery clip shown at Comic-Con, the Losers return to the old house seen at the end of the 2017 It film. Director Muschietti told the audience before airing the clip that the house is only visible to children (and apparently the Losers Club).
More about Pennywise: Back in 2017, Bill Skarsgård told Metro UK this second film will explore his creepy character even more. “It’s a different story,” he said. “But I’m excited to delve in deeper to the character as there’s more exploration for who Pennywise is.” Specifically, the actor has discussed a disturbing scene showing a less-clown-like Pennywise in the 1600s that was shot for the first film and not used. Some are wondering if that will be included in Chapter 2.
Buckets of blood: Chastain appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in February 2019 and warned there’s a scene that might contain the largest amount of (fake) blood ever spilled in a horror-movie scene. “The next day, I was like, pulling blood out of my eyeballs,” she said.
Don’t be like Mike: Director Muschietti said in 2017 that the character of Mike, the one Losers Club member who stays in Derry, will be different from the novel. “My idea of Mike in the second movie is quite darker from the book,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “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.”
Scenes we might see: After the first movie was filmed, producer Barbara Muschietti told journalists that some scenes didn’t fit in the budget for that film, but might make Chapter 2. One scene in particular, a massacre at the Black Spot nightclub, may even open the new film. “That sequence with the Black Spot, we think it’s gonna be a great opening for the next film,” Muschietti said at the time. Whether that makes it to the opening scene, we will have to wait and see.
We know for sure that the film will include flashback scenes.
Warner Bros. Pictures
Tongue-twister: Screenwriter Daubman told Cinema Blend in September 2018 that a bizarre element of King’s book, called The Ritual of Chüd, will play a role in the film. Cinema Blend explains it like this: “The Ritual of Chüd is basically a psychic battle of wills, but is translated by the author with some very odd imagery. Specifically, the idea is that Pennywise and a member of the Losers Club each extend their tongues, overlap them, bite down, and then exchange jokes until one party laughs.”
Turtle time: In the book, the ancient turtle Maturin is seen as the creator of the universe. Though director Andy Muschietti was light on turtle references in the first movie, he told SyFy Wire to expect more in the second film. “I think in the second part, the turtle will try to help them,” he said. “In the second movie, the turtle left a few clues to their childhood that they don’t remember. They have to retrieve those memories from the summer of 1989, and that’s how we jump back to 1989.”
This story was first published in August 2018 and is regularly updated.