11 things we may see in ‘It’ Chapter Two
[Photo by: New Line Cinema]
Pennywise and the Losers Club truly killed it with a projected $123 million opening weekend for the 2017 reboot of It. The film gives a facelift to characters viewers first met in a 1990 miniseries, both of which cite Stephen King’s 1986 novel of the same name as source material. While It’s box office results have already made it the largest opening for a horror movie, there is still no official announcement of a sequel. However, even before the numbers came rolling in, the film ended with a title card that included Chapter One and a disembodied laugh from the dancing clown himself, both of which hint that the story is far from over. Here are just some of the things we may be seeing in Chapter Two.
Read more: This video compares the new It movie to the old miniseries, and it’s awesome
Flashbacks to the Losers Club as kids
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The original miniseries was arranged as a nonlinear narrative between the late ’80s and ’50s, using flashbacks to childhood as a main storytelling tool. Here, we first meet the Losers Club as adults, reflecting on their promise to return to Derry, Maine, if It ever returned to terrorize the town. Obviously he does, and they must reunite to stop him. In the 2017 feature film, we only meet the Club as preteens and instead start in 1988 with their first encounter with It. The choice to focus on the kids wasn’t surprising, given producer Dan Lin revealed the film was envisioned as a two-part piece from the beginning to give the book the proper treatment. Since the film’s release, director Andy Muschietti discussed the pending sequel with Entertainment Weekly, revealing that while the second film will focus on the adults honoring their blood oath to return to Derry should Pennywise resurface (presumably 27 years later, in present day), the kids will snag some screen time in the form of flashbacks. He describes the continued usage of the kids as “a very big part of the action.”
The Losers Club as successful adults
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Like its miniseries predecessor, we should anticipate seeing the Losers Club living successful lives 27 years after supposedly beating Pennywise, some of which was foreshadowed in the 2017 film. Ben first meets Beverly while carrying a model of Derry’s standpipe water tower (that is also on the postcard on which he writes a poem for her). That school project may be a nod to his future career as an architect.
Another possible foreshadow comes as the group parts ways after disagreeing on how to handle Pennywise after their encounter at the Well House. Mike tells them his grandfather was right about him being an outsider and needing to stay that way, as in the miniseries Mike is the only one who doesn’t leave Derry as an adult, becoming a librarian and living alone nearby.
A darker outcome for Mike
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In the It miniseries, we first meet Mike creeping around a Pennywise-induced crime scene. After stumbling on a picture of Georgie 30 years after his disappearance, he reaches out to each member of the Losers Club to get them to make good on a promise to return when It does. Andy Muschietti revealed to Entertainment Weekly that Mike will once again be the only one to stay in Derry and therefore the reason they all come back. However, he has a darker vision where staying took a toll on him and he’s become a “librarian junkie.” Muschietti expands on this by explaining Hanlon wants to figure out how to defeat Pennywise and believes the only way he can do so is by taking drugs to alter his mind.
An all-star adult cast or some relatively unknown actors
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In an interview on Entertainment Weekly’s SiriusXM station, the teens portraying the Losers Club (minus Jack Dylan Grazer as Eddie) revealed who they believed would be the best choice to portray their adult counterparts. Among them included Jaeden Lieberher (Bill) choosing Christian Bale, Finn Wolfhard (Richie) choosing Bill Hader, Chosen Jacobs (Mike) choosing Chadwick Boseman, Sophia Lillis (Beverly) choosing Jessica Chastain, Wyatt Oleff (Stanley) choosing Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Jeremy Ray Taylor (Ben) choosing Chris Pratt. Although no one has officially been cast yet and despite the pretty spot-on suggestions, director Andy Muschietti’s sister and producing partner Barbara Muschietti revealed to Entertainment Weekly the producing team have been mulling over it since the first chapter was shot. Other members of the team have also suggested they find relatively unknown actors if established adult doppelgängers for the young cast are hard to come by.
Another killer soundtrack
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It stays true to its late-’80s setting with some decade-appropriate tunes. The soundtrack features the Cure’s “Six Different Ways” while the kids clean up Beverly’s bloody bathroom, “Antisocial” by Anthrax during the epic rock war, “Bust A Move” by Young MC as Beverly sunbathes, and XTC’s “Dear God” for a montage of the Losers living separate lives. The movie also works music into its plot, with bully Henry Bowers’ lackey Belch sporting tees from Anthrax and Metallica, and a running joke between Beverly and Ben over the latter’s love of New Kids On The Block. With the film’s numerous nods to ’80s acts, it’s expected the sequel will put just as much thought into securing the perfect soundtrack.
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Bill Skarsgård returning as Pennywise
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Bill Skarsgård is definitely no Tim Curry, but thankfully for audiences of the latest installment, he didn’t try to be. Skarsgård’s Pennywise will be haunting the dreams of a whole new generation of It fans with his whispery approach and sneering grin. Producer Barbara Muschietti revealed to Entertainment Weekly that Skarsgård is the one actor signed on for a sequel whose writing and development has already been in the works despite not yet being green lit.
Pennywise’s past slayings
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Through Ben’s research in the new film, the kids realize something bad happens in Derry every 27 years. Using their current 1989 setting and the numerous missing children as a starting point, they trace back through history, outlining the tragedies of 1962’s fire at the Black Spot, 1935’s Bradley Gang shootout and 1908’s Ironworks explosion. Ben also shows the crew sketches of the 91 people signing the charter to make Derry a town, explaining they went missing and all that was left was a trail of bloody clothes to somewhere known as the Well House. In these sketches, Pennywise leers from within the crowd, giving some background on his dated clown attire, as it more than likely was created centuries ago. The crew figures out the Well House’s current location is a dilapidated structure on Neibolt Street where Eddie first saw Pennywise alone. Within the house is a well leading to the sewer where the group figure out Pennywise is living. Producer Barbara Muschietti already told Collider in July that they originally planned to include more on the Black Spot in the first half of the film, but budgets prevented it from occurring. However, she believes the fire may make the perfect opening for the sequel.
Pennywise’s origin
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In the same interview with Collider, Barbara also revealed one of the two scenes postponed included It’s first interaction with the human race. If this is reintroduced in the sequel, perhaps it will also explore why Pennywise has some sort of hold over the townspeople that prevents them from stepping in when needed. From Georgie sticking his head in the sewer drain to Henry carving his name in Ben’s stomach, both were witnessed by passersby who did nothing. In the miniseries, this is mentioned when Mike remembers his first day of school where he was sharing old photos of Derry and discussing missing settlers before being interrupted by the teacher. Beverly also remembers being picked on by Henry Bowers and his lackeys while a witnessing neighbor goes inside without doing anything. They refer to the figurative act of sticking your head in the sand as the “Derry disease.”
The miniseries also discusses Pennywise’s true form, known as the deadlights, which, if viewed directly, cause a person to go instantly insane (as displayed by Bowers) or be killed. In the feature film, Beverly is abducted by Pennywise and claims she’s not afraid. He menacingly claims she will be before unhinging his jaw to reveal bright lights. While it is never explicitly stated by anyone that this is the deadlights, it is assumed when Beverly’s eyes glaze over and she begins floating. With only the Cliffs Notes of Pennywise’s past thus far, here’s hoping the sequel delves a little deeper in explaining the origin of the dancing clown and his many other forms.
Read more: Someone was tying red ‘It’ balloons to city sewer grates
More humor balancing out the horror
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In the It miniseries, Seth Green’s Richie is obviously the class clown with campy one-liners that carry over into his successful career as a Hollywood comedian. In the 2017 It, Finn Wolfhard of Stranger Things fame does Richie justice with some updated humor in the form of childish “Your Mom” jokes, numerous sexual innuendos and equally-as-funny one-liners (“Who invited Molly Ringwald into the group?” wins as he draws reference between Beverly and a fellow ’80s redhead). However, Richie isn’t the only one cracking jokes, whether deliberately or through subtle mishaps (Eddie mixing up “placebo” and “gazebo” in a fit of rage), jabs (Beverly continuously drawing attention to Ben’s love of all things NKOTB) and rather sadistic occurrences (Pennywise waving at Mike via a severed arm he’s just finished gnawing on as the latter gets beat by Henry Bowers). The result is a dark coming-of-age story drawing attention to the awkward growing pains of adolescence that we can only hope transfers over to the adult-centric sequel.
What happened to Henry Bowers
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Henry Bowers terrorizes the Losers Club throughout the 2017 reboot and in turn brings them closer together. Pennywise gets in his head after returning his father’s lost knife, convincing him via a hijacked television program to kill his cop dad with whom he is at odds. Bowers does as Pennywise wishes before leaving to find the club and “kill them all” at the Well House. There, all but Mike have ventured down into the sewer on a mission to save Beverly, and Henry sees him as the perfect target. He engages in a scuffle with Mike before getting pushed down the well. While one may assume Bowers fell to his death, his body is never shown and no mention of his passing is made. This is somewhat significant when compared to the miniseries, as Bowers survives the sewer battle with Pennywise (his lackeys, not so much) and takes the fall for the murders It committed. Pennywise returns to Bowers 30 years later where he is locked up at Juniper Hill Asylum, helping him escape and telling him it’s time to kill them all. Whether Bowers actually died in Chapter One or will be returning once more for a similar revenge mission is yet to be seen.
The fates of Stanley and Eddie
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Stanley is hardly a believer of It and his powers despite having his worst fear of the contorted flute lady painting come to life early in the film. He insists throughout that what they see isn’t real and just a figment of each person’s imagination. His reluctance to help his friends is also prevalent, from not wanting to enter the Well House to getting attacked by said flute lady when separated from his group in the sewer and blaming them for it. Stanley’s final bout of reluctance comes at the film’s close as they’re saying they’ll return to Derry if It does, solidifying the promise through a blood oath. Here, Stanley tells Bill he hates him before cracking a smile and being the first to leave the circle. Eddie is the second to leave, both acting as a foreshadow for what happened in the miniseries. There, Stanley reluctantly agrees to come back to Derry should It resurface, but once called by Mike as an adult, the memories become too much for him and he takes his own life. His wife finds blood smeared across the bathroom wall to spell out “IT,” and the Losers Club later have his decapitated head taunting them thanks to Pennywise after finding out his fate. Eddie, however, does return to Derry, going so far as to enter the sewers again with the gang, where he meets his demise at the hands of Pennywise. Between what was shown in the first chapter and what director Andy Muschietti has discussed in interviews for the future, it’s clear he doesn’t always stay true to the source material’s outcomes, so only time will tell if Stanley and Eddie will meet similar fates.
