Per our sister site, , a curious piece of information has been added in the latest update over at My Entertainment World. It seems that the site is already listing a start date for the second half of New Line Cinema‘s adaptation of the classic Stephen King novel, It. That start date appears to be sooner than expected: March 17th. Furthermore, it even has a synopsis…
A promise made twenty-eight years ago calls seven adults to reunite in Derry, Maine, where as teenagers they battled an evil creature that preyed on the city’s children. Unsure that their Losers Club had vanquished the creature all those years ago, the seven had vowed to return to Derry if IT should ever reappear.
There’s certainly a possibility that some wires are crossed and that date is nothing more than a blocked out round of reshoots. Still, the synopsis gives us pause. We already knew that the studio had split the large tome into two halves, with this fall’s release only covering the period piece, child-centric section of the tale. The powers that be have publicly stated more than once that the second feature will be made quickly if the first film is a hit.
The film recently screened for both studio personnel and even had a test screening. That much we know. Might New Line have been so emboldened by the reaction to both that they are pushing ahead with production on the sequel early? That’s entirely possible, but I’m leaning towards this merely being a short round of reshoots, pick-ups, and/or additional. Why? Because that date is only two weeks away and we’ve been given no casting whatsoever.
For those not familiar with the novel or the previous TV adaptation of the book, the original novel primarily covers two periods of time. The first was in the 1950s, when our protagonists are children and are tasked with battling a seemingly-eternal monstrous foe. The second took place 30-some odd years later during the 1980s, with our heroes now adults battling the same fiend.
This new adaptation has reportedly moved up the timeline of the children’s section to the 1980s. As a result, the eventual adult section will now take place during our present. Because of this, all of the protagonists will have to be recast with adult actors. I could be wrong, but I find it hard to believe that New Line has been able to keep what amounts to at least 8 main cast members under wraps until two weeks before a start date. Maybe a handful, but not the whole lot.
I have little doubt that It: Part 2 (or whatever they end up calling it) will be shooting sometime within the next year. Perhaps even before the first film arrives in theaters this September. That said, I’m guessing this is just a round of planned additional photography and nothing more.
It comes from New Line Cinema and is a new adaptation of the classic Stephen King novel by the same name. The film is directed by Andres Muschietti, from a screenplay by Chase Palmer, Cary Fukunaga, and Gary Dauberman. The project is produced by Dan Lin, Roy Lee, David Katzenberg, Barbara Muschietti, and Seth Grahame-Smith. The film stars Bill Skarsgard as ‘Pennywise’, Jaeden Lieberher as ‘Bill Denbrough’, Jeremy Ray Taylor as ‘Ben Hanscom’, Sophia Lillis as ‘Beverly Marsh’, Finn Wolfhard as ‘Richie Tozier’, Jack Dylan Grazer as ‘Eddie Kaspbrak’, Chosen Jacobs as ‘Mike Hanlon’, Wyatt Oleff as ‘Stanley Uris’, Nicholas Hamilton as ‘Henry Bowers’, Owen Teague as ‘Patrick Hockstetter’, Logan Thompson as ‘Victor “Vic” Criss’, Jake Sim as ‘Reginald “Belch” Huggins’, Jackson Robert Scott as ‘George Denrough’, Stephen Bogaert as ‘Alvin Marsh’, Pip Dwyer as ‘Sharon Denbrough’, Ari Cohen as ‘Rabbi Uris’, Steven Williams as ‘Leroy Hanlon’, Stuart Hughes as ‘Officer Oscar “Butch” Bowers’, Megan Charpentier as ‘Greta Bowie’, Geoffrey Pounsett as ‘Zack Denbrough’, Tatum Lee as ‘Judith’, and Javier Botet as ‘The Leper’.
It arrives in theaters on September 8th, 2017.
