IT director Andy Muschetti says that the sequel will explore the cosmic dimension, and also return to the 1980s. With less than a week left until IT premieres in theaters, the hype and fan anticipation for the re-adaptation of Stephen King’s classic tale of small town terror only continues to increase. The box office projections point to IT being a huge commercial hit, and the advance critical opinion is overwhelmingly positive. All in all, IT looks poised to instantly become one of the most acclaimed King adaptations to date.
Still, IT is only the first half of a two-part story, with Muschetti set to return to direct the follow-up. Muschetti has said that the script for Part 2 will likely be finished by January 2018, with production hopefully underway by March. Realistically, that means that the second chapter of IT’s story will probably not be seen by audiences until at least 2019. Regardless, Muschetti is already thinking a lot about what he wants to include in the sequel.
In a recent interview with Yahoo, Muschetti revealed that he plans to explore the otherworldly cosmic dimension called “The Deadlights,” which features heavily in King’s book, and is actually where the true form of IT resides. He also made it clear that the sequel will not be entirely confined to the present day reality of the adult Losers’ Club, and will return to the 1980s time period as well. Here’s his reasoning for saving the cosmic aspects for Part 2.
“I really wanted to focus on the emotional journey of the group of kids. Getting in to that other dimension — the other side — was something that we could introduce in the second part. In the book the perspective of the writing… is always with the Losers, so everything they know about Pennywise is very speculative and shrouded in absurdity, so I wanted to respect that mystery feeling of not knowing what’s on the other side. I also wanted to leave something for the second half, so I didn’t want to get in trouble with that — going into the macroverse or that transdimensional stuff — and keep it grounded, from the point of view of the kids.”
Elsewhere in the same interview, Muschetti also admits that not including the other dimension in the first IT film was a budget concern, suggesting once again that the director is hoping Warner Bros. will grant him a higher budget for the sequel. It’s worth mentioning though that the director isn’t entirely correct when he says that King’s book was always told from the Losers’ perspective, as a small portion is actually told from the point of view of IT, and includes some exposition from the monster itself about what where it came from and why it does what it does.
Perhaps most interestingly, when talking about both the present and the past timelines being featured in the sequel, Muschetti says that “there will be a dialogue between the two timelines.” While the book cuts back and forth between both eras repeatedly, Muschetti’s use of the word “dialogue” suggests that IT: Part 2 might include some actual literal interaction between the child and adult Losers, which could certainly be a cool device if used well.
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