IT Remake

So far Andres Muschietti’s remake of Stephen King’s IT has pulled in over an astounding $500 million worldwide since its release on September 8th, 2017. IT is set to surpass even The Exorcist as the top-grossing R-rated horror film and is well on its way to toppling other records before it even leaves theaters. So even without Muschietti’s “Chapter 1” teaser in the credits of IT, there was likely never any doubt of a sequel coming to fruition. But what might that sequel look like?

First, we know the release date. September 6, 2019. Ugh, that’s a while off now isn’t it?

What do we know about the IT sequel so far?

IT already has a solid body of work to build on and with Andres Muschietti altering only minor bits from the first half of the novel and reworking parts of the 1990’s miniseries, it’s possible that we’ll see a fairly true to form sequel… providing Muschietti signs back on for the second half. As of Sept. 7, Andres Muschietti wasn’t officially confirmed as director of the sequel however, his involvement is almost a guarantee as Barbara Muschietti, sibling of Andres and producer of IT has already signaled her involvement on a sequel, as well as lead actor Bill Skarsgard (Pennywise) and screenwriter Gary Dauberman, who will return to write the script for the sequel.

A sequel was the plan all along. In an interview with Yahoo! Movies Muschietti stated the following, “I really wanted to focus on the emotional journey of the group of kids. Getting into that other dimension—the other side—was something that we could introduce in the second part.”

That notion of exploring Pennywise’s origins has also been hinted at by none other than Pennywise himself, Bill Skarsgard.

“We’re in the early stages and I’m talking to Andy about it and figuring out what IT will be… It’s a different story, but I’m excited to delve in deeper to the character as there’s more exploration for who Pennywise is,”… “And I think that’s what I wanted and that’s where I want to go for the second one, to delve into the psychological and metaphysical spaces of this transdimensional being.” – Andres Muschietti

And as far as the timing on the sequel and filming, they need to get it in gear. Producer Barbara Muschietti stated that the kids involved in Chapter 1 will be an important part of the sequel, specifically in the form of flashback sequences.

“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.” – Barbara Muschietti

However, when FrightFind sat down with IT star Wyatt Oleff (Stan Uris of the Losers’ Club) to ask about plans for a sequel, Oleff responded that an IT Chapter 2 script may not even be in the works yet – “I don’t think they’ve written the script yet. So, they’re trying to gather all the ideas and parts from the book that they wanna put in and all of that.”

The general consensus remains however, that should everything go according to plan, we’ll all be happily throwing our money at New Line Cinema again on September 6th, 2019.

IT Sequel, Who will fill The Losers’ Club Shoes?

Besides Bill Skarsgard and the current Losers’ Club cast, there has been no official word on casting for the Losers’ adult counterparts that will be essential to Chapter 2. But there has been a lot of exciting speculation.

Who will fill the young Losers’ Club shoes? From left to right: Stanley Uris (Wyatt Oleff), Richie Tozier (Finn Wolfhard), Mike Hanlon (Chosen Jacobs), Bill Denbrough (Jaeden Lieberher), Beverly Marsh (Sophia Lillis) & Ben Hanscom (Jeremy Ray Taylor)

Fans have pegged Jessica Chastain as a favorite to play an adult Beverly Marsh. Muschietti seems fond of that idea as well, especially since they already have a friendly working relationship from his previous horror flick, Mama. Jessica Chastain is also apparently a huge fan of IT and loves Muschietti’s interpretation, so in the words of Muschietti himself, “it feels like the planets are aligned in that sense…” As for the rest of the casting, according to Muschietti “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.”

Fans peg Jessica Chastain to play an adult Beverly. Nothing has been confirmed as speculation grows.

While it’s too early for the Muschietti’s to confirm anything, that hasn’t slowed down fan speculation, even among the current cast of the Losers’ Club. In an interview with Variety, Jaeden Lieberher, the actor that plays young Bill Denbrough, has said he would love to see Ewan McGregor take on the role.

Jeremy Ray Taylor who plays young Ben Hanscom in The Losers’ Club has stated he would love to see Guardians of the Galaxy’s lead Chris Pratt fill his shoes and Chosen Jacobs, the young Mike Hanlon, has listed another Marvel star, Chadwick Boseman of Black Panther fame, as his choice for his grown-up counterpart.

Speculation for the rest of the cast has included Jake Gyllenhaal as Bill Denbrough, Batman V Superman’s Scoot McNairy to play an adult Stan Uris, lovable John Krasinski for his similarities to John Ritter’s portrayal of Ben Hanscom, American Pie’s Jason Biggs as the wisecracking Richie Tozier, Jordan Peele, director of the ultra-terrifying Get Out as Mike Hanlon, and Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul as Eddie Kaspbreak.

Should any of these come to fruition IT: Chapter 2 has the potential to be a huge, star-studded event. When asked about potential casting for the next installment, Muschietti simply said the following; “I cannot talk about it. Some things said on the web are not totally wrong. That’s all I can say.”

Changes to the IT sequel

Muschietti and Skarsgard have both been very careful when comparing their IT with the 1990 miniseries. Skarsgard has said in multiple interviews that he never wanted to simply recreate Tim Curry’s performance in the original, stating the following; “I knew that I was never going to be able to do that, so I’m going to do something completely different and hope people appreciate both performances.”

“I knew that I was never going to be able to do that, so I’m going to do something completely different and hope people appreciate both performances.” – Bill Skarsgard

Muschietti has also been open to discussing potential changes to the story for the sequel. When asked about Mike Hanlon’s character, who later goes on to be the only member of the Losers’ Club who stayed behind in Derry, he said the following; “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.”

In addition to a darker version of the adult Mike, speculation has also swirled about the return of Henry Bowers, the abusive tormentor of the Losers. In the novel, Henry is controlled by Pennywise and admits to killing the missing children. He is eventually admitted to Juniper Hill Asylum where he spends several years before escaping with help from Pennywise where he can further torment the now adult Losers. Spoilers ahead if you haven’t seen the new IT-eration.

In the 2017 version of the film, we see Henry fall to his assumed doom down a sewer pipe after a physical altercation with Mike. As he never reappears, it’s possible that he too has joined the leagues of other deceased children in Derry, however that may be a bit too much speculation.

“Never Found the Body”, aka “Never Say Die” is a common trope in horror films that can basically be boiled down to “Never assume a character is dead unless you see the body.” In this case, especially with Pennywise’s previous use of Henry as a vessel to create havoc for both the children and adult Losers, it’s possible that Henry could reappear to take on his adult role in Chapter 2.

Going Forward…

We’ll keep you updated on any new developments on the sequel, but we want to know what you’d like to see in Chapter 2?  Who would you like to see in the role of the adult Losers? What parts from the Stephen King’s novel were you disappointed didn’t make the first film? What flashback sequences are you hoping will brought back in the second installment? Let us know in the comments below!

FrightFind had an amazing opportunity to sit down and talk with Wyatt Oleff of the upcoming remake of Stephen King’s IT. You may know Wyatt from his gut wrenching opening scene where he played a young Peter Quill in Guardians of the Galaxy 1. Wyatt plays Stan Uris a member of The Losers’ Club. Here’s what we can expect when we finally see the new IT this September 8th.

FrightFind: Hi Oleff. Thanks for taking time to talk to us today.

Wyatt Oleff: Oh, absolutely. Thank you for having me.

FF: So, what was it like starring in the most heartbreaking opening scene in movie history? I’m Referring to Guardians of the Galaxy where you played young Peter Quill.

Wyatt: That’s quite the title actually. I don’t know if I want that because I think Up has that, but I’m not sure.

FF: That’s what my daughter says too, but that’s a cartoon and Guardians is real.

Wyatt: Okay. Wow. I didn’t expect people to actually… Well, I expected people to cry, hopefully, but just the reaction that [the scene] got was incredible and really kinda blew my mind with how far that it went. And I was like, “Is this how far things can go?” ‘Cause it was just like my first huge thing and I was mind blown.

FF: Tell us about your character Stan Uris in IT. He’s different than the other kids in the Losers’ Club.

Wyatt: Well, Stan is a very… He’s a very organized person. He has OCD. He wants everything to be in order and in check. And with the main events of the movie rolling around and It being a thing that’s terrorizing Derry, he’s definitely the most scared of It, and he’s really… I would say It just doesn’t fit into his line of reality and it messes with his mind more than everybody else, ’cause he tries to lay everything out in his own mind pattern kinda thing. And Pennywise comes along and just shatters everything. And so, for that to happen to him, he’s definitely the most scared.

FF: Have you read the book? Was it something you were excited about or were you learning about it on the job?

Wyatt: Yeah. Definitely the latter. I was definitely… I was aware of the story, the clown, the evil clown, and he kills kids and whatever, but when I got the part, I was like, “Well, now I need to study up.” So that’s exactly what I did. I Googled the characters, I Googled the story, the adult’s and the kid’s sections, and I kinda just interwove those and created what I thought was Stanley, and I hope people are pleased with it.

I saw the miniseries during filming. I saw a little bit of it before and then I finished up during filming, but just like clips of the beginning.

FF: Tell us a little about the new Losers’ Club. How do you guys get along? Are you good friends on and off the set?

Jaeden Lieberher, Finn Wolfhard, Jack Dylan, Chosen Jacobs, Jeremy Ray, and Wyatt Oleff, Sophia Lillis

Wyatt: It’s crazy. So the first two weeks of filming, they just had us do a ton of bonding exercises, and surprisingly it actually worked and we were able to really just all connect. It was crazy how well and how quick it happened. I would say maybe the third day we all met each other, we had a huge sleepover and it was one of our best memories we’ve ever had. A lot of our inside jokes come from that or just anywhere across the summer. It was an amazing experience just to be with six other of my best friends now and film a movie, which is even more incredible. It was amazing.

FF: Tim Curry was such a big part of the original It. How would you compare the two Pennywise characters for us? What should we expect from Bill Skarsgård?

Wyatt: Honestly, The two Pennywises, you can try to put them together and try to compare them to each other, but it just doesn’t really work that well. They’re two different Pennywises. You have the mini-series Pennywise and the movie Pennywise. Skarsgård obviously does a brilliant job with what he does, and Curry does great as well, but I think they’re both in separate categories, and to compare them to each other is definitely hard. But people are gonna love Skarsgård, he just adapts into the role so well and it’s so amazing.

FF: Did he scare you?

Wyatt: Oh, of course, yeah. He would get into character before they said, “Action!” and we’d all be really scared. I was like, “Oh, no, this is not fun.”

The great thing about him is, is that he doesn’t stay in character. He would really get into character during the scene, but if something would happen or someone got hurt, he would be like, “Oh my God, are you okay?” He’s really caring and he’s really scary at the same time, so it’s a great contrast.

FF: What was it like working on Guardians, and how much different was working on Guardians than It?

Wyatt: First of all, Guardians is an action-adventure movie and It is a very scary movie. So, moving from a light-hearted movie to a really dark movie is quite the contrast. For both, I definitely had to do a bit of crying, so it was kinda similar in that sense. But definitely, the overall atmosphere of filming It was just… It was definitely just looming over the whole entire time. It was just scary.

FF: Rough day. You lost your mom and abducted by aliens in the same few minutes.

Wyatt: Yeah, it was a really rough day.

FF: Do you have any interest in making more horror films after this, or do you want to go in a different direction?

Wyatt: No, if the opportunity rolls around, I’d love to do any kind of Marvel movie. They make great movies. Playing a superhero would be pretty incredible. Obviously, it’s kinda weird on set, ’cause there’s no special effects or anything, and you’re just kinda like… Just doing kinda stupid, goofy things and throwing random things that aren’t gonna be there in post. It’s still awesome, of course.

FF: What superhero would you be?

Wyatt: I don’t know exactly, but not even… This wouldn’t be my final choice or anything, but Spider-Man. The way Tom Holland played Spider-Man is one of my favorites, and I’d love to play that kinda character someday. Just the awkward kinda type who’s still very strong, but just not socially strong. I think that could relate back to me.

FF: Any chance we get to see some of the Losers’ Club in future Stranger Things seasons?

Wyatt: I would say no chance in seeing us, ’cause I don’t recall any times we were on set, but Stranger Things, to me, is a great show. The twist that they left at the end of season one sets up a great story for season two, and I’m really excited to see what comes next. I’ve asked Finn [Wolfhard] not to spoil it for me.

FF: Who would win in a fight? The Losers’ Club or the Stranger Things kids?

Wyatt: I’d say Losers’ Club if it was a death match at least. We have a nice big stun bolt gun, so I think we win.

FF: How far along are you into the second part of the IT remake? Have you started filming?

Wyatt:  I have no clue. We’ve kind of been told stuff, but not really. So, we don’t know what’s to come. I don’t think they’ve written the script yet. So, they’re trying to gather all the ideas and the parts from the book that they wanna put in and all of that.

FF: Do you have any secrets about the IT remake?

Wyatt: Secrets… Okay, let me think of one that they won’t get mad at me for saying. It’s not as much of a secret, but I do have a good story.

So, we had a getaway scene, where I had to go on my bike, which was not the best, to say the least. I definitely was not fit for it, I was a little too big. We had to pedal quickly, and I went far down the street, like really far, and the camera kind of stayed in one place, so it didn’t really catch me. But I was super far down and I turned around to look at everybody and I don’t know how, but I twisted the handle bars and my foot got caught in the wheel. So I flipped head first over my bike. Luckily I didn’t hit my head or anything, but I definitely hit the ground hard and it was definitely painful.

And no one saw it happen.

Then, everyone was kind of like, “Oh, no, this is bad.” I knew what it was. But the best part is that a couple days later we had to do a scene riding up to somewhere, and then I don’t know how, but my bike, I just had to stop it or something like that, and I just tipped over. Just nothing but plain tipped over. Just fall to the right, that’s it. And I just scraped my knee horribly, my arm was horrible, and there were rocks in it and everything. It was worse than when I flipped over the handlebars somehow. But if you ever see me in the movie with my fists on the ground instead of my palms, that’s because I had an internal bruise on my left thumb.

I need a stuntman to do accidental stunts for me, so I don’t get hurt.

FF: Last Question. What are you gonna be for Halloween, and what’s your favorite Halloween candy?

Wyatt: Okay, I’m thinking Ness from EarthBound, but I’m not 100 percent sure yet. And my favorite candy would have to be M&M’s. Like M&M’s or KitKats, to be handed out on Halloween at least. I love plain M&M’s, but recently they came out with caramel, and I love them. They’re crazy good, but either one works for me.