It: Chapter Two Director Andy Muschietti Clarifies Stephen King's Scene Requests

Earlier this month, a report surfaced on It: Chapter Two, stating that Stephen King himself wanted a scene added to the upcoming film. Based on the interpretation of these comments in the initial report, many assumed the prolific horror author had a new scene in mind, but earlier today director Andy Muschietti set the record straight in new comments to Collider.

Essentially, the filmmaker shared the script with King, who had a few thoughts on specific scenes from his book he'd like to see on the big screen. One of those scenes does make it in, and was probably going to be included anyway, while the ending-related sequence didn't quite make the cut per Muschietti's vision. For non-book readers, there are some spoilers ahead, so read on at your own risk!

Muschietti explained, “I just shared the script with him because I wanted to know what he thought about it, [if] he has any kind of notes. And he very generously said, ‘Look, just take this as what it is. It’s not a mandate or anything. But this is like the couple of things I would like to see in the movie.’ And that’s what it was.”

“There were things that were already on their way to land in the movie,” he continued. “He’s a fan of Paul Bunyan and specifically Paul Bunyan chasing young Richie. So that was great because I was a little bit on the fence with that and when Steve said, ‘Gotta put it in the movie; can we see it in the movie?’ I was like, ‘Yes, of course!’”

“And the other one was the rolling standpipe at the end of the book when Derry collapses into the sinkhole and it all floods,” added Muschietti. “There is a scene where the standpipe basically collapses and starts rolling down the hill, and for some reason, it’s one of Stephen’s favorite episodes in the book and, it’s funny actually. The whole episode is seen by a guy that’s smoking a splif and he’s looking and he says something like, ‘That’s Steven Spielberg,’ something like that, because of the scope of the scene.”

“Well, we couldn’t go that far because I basically wanted to end the movie on a more emotional note, more intimate, more about the feelings of this group of characters. And also making this huge destruction scene would have sucked probably half the budget of visual effects. I didn’t want to go through that.”

What was sounding like it would be a minor clarification ended up being a rather enlightening glimpse into the story and development of the film, which finally hits theaters early this month. Will you be adding a return trip to Derry to your vacation plans this year? Let us know in the comments below.

It: Chapter Two brings the Losers' Club into adulthood with James McAvoy as Bill, Jay Ryan as Ben, Bill Hader as Richie, Isaiah Mustafa as Mike, Jessica Chastain as Beverly, Andy Bean as Stanley, and last but not least, James Ransone as Eddie. It was also previously announced that Xavier Dolan and Will Beinbrink would be playing the roles of Adrian Mellon and Tom Rogan respectively. Bill Skarsgård is, of course, reprising his role as Pennywise the Dancing Clown.

The film will hit theaters on September 6th, 2019. Andy Muschietti has returned to direct a script written by Gary Dauberman. Both films are based off the 1986 best-selling novel It by Stephen King, one of his most notable works.

About the Author

Chris Morse

Programmer by day, writer by night. Having grown up surrounded by plenty of horror movies and video games, it only made sense for Chris to combine all of these passions into one place: Dead Entertainment. Whether he's working on designs, tinkering with the platform, or just writing up the latest horror news, he's sure to be hard at work keeping the wheels turning on this website no matter what time of day it is. When not coding or gaming, you can find him donning a Cheesehead and heading to the Midwest to cheer on his favorite NFL team, the Green Bay Packers. #GoPackGo

More Reading

NECA’s It: Chapter Two Ultimate Pennywise Action Figure Returns to Derry

This figure features four different interchangeable heads to recreate all of your favorite moments from the movie.

It: Chapter Two Set for Home Video Release Just in Time for the Holiday Season

The movie will arrive on Digital in just under a month while you can expect the physical release in early December.

Review: It: Chapter Two is a Wild Ride That Doesn’t Quite Live Up to Its Own Legacy

This slow-burn sequel has plenty of scares, but fails to deliver in the end.

Bill Skarsgård Teases the Possibility of a Future It Sequel

The story of the book is finished, so such a potential follow-up based on Pennywise would have to come from an original idea.