IT (2017) is a remake of the 1990 film of the same name and is based on the novel by Stephen King. The book itself is a frightening 1138 pages long, but it is highly acclaimed and is considered to be one of Stephen King’s best novels. The first trailer for IT came out recently, and it was constructed perfectly; there’s a strong chance that most people watched it with their shirts over their face, because it was truly petrifying. The trailer itself has set a landmark as it generated 197 million online views in its first 24 hours of release, which surpasses The Fate of the Furious (2017), which received 137 million online views back in December. The buzz for this film is at an all time high and it’s anticipated to do very well at the box office.
Bill Skarsgard (Hemlock Grove) plays the titular villain Pennywise, and follows in the clown shoes of Tim Curry who starred in the 1990 version. Additionally, it is directed by Andres Muschietti, the same man who scared all of us with the hit horror film Mama (2013), so it seems like it’s in safe hands. However, there is a video circulating that compares the trailer’s scenes to that of the 1990 TV movie IT, which shows the obvious similarities between them both. This could spark some concern that the director has not been able to instil his own creative flair on the project, but we’ll have to wait for the film’s release to see how it turns out.
Release Date
IT has been given a UK release date of the 8th of September. It will go up against the possible awards contender Wind River, out on the same weekend in the UK, which is a directorial effort from Hell or High Water scribe Taylor Sheridan.
Story
The original plot revolves around 7 adults, who, 30 years prior were haunted by an unsettling character known as Pennywise. Pennywise is a shape-shifting maniacal clown who can take the form of his victim’s worst nightmares. Alongside this we also see flashbacks to their time as children in the town of Derry, where they first encountered our villain and his murderous ways. As adults, they’re all made aware that Pennywise is back, and they stop at nothing to finish off the killer clown for good.
The new film version coming out later this year looks to focus solely on the children’s experiences against Pennywise, as no significant casting announcements have been made regarding the adult version of the characters. Stephen King confirmed back in March 2017 that they intend to split the movie into two parts, which could imply that the second part would finish with our characters as adults readying to fight Pennywise once more.
IT (2017) trailer:
Cast
Bill Skarsgard gets to don the face paint in what will be a starring role for the Swedish up and coming actor, as he plays the insatiable Pennywise. Stranger Things Series 2 actor Finn Wolfhard co-stars with Sophia Lillis, Jaeden Lieberher, Nicholas Hamilton and Megan Charpentier, who could all shoot to stardom with key roles in this first film.
Production
Andres Muschietti has directed the first IT film, and depending on its success, he could be asked to come back to complete the second part. Seth Grahame-Smith, David Katzenberg, Roy Lee, Dan Lin and Barbara Muschietti have produced the film. The team behind the film also includes director of photography Chung-Hoon Chung (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl), production designer Claude Paré (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), editor Jason Ballantine (The Great Gatsby), and costume designer Janie Bryant (Mad Men). More on the production can be found on Andres Muschietti’s Instagram account, under the name andy_muschietti.
Originally, when the film was still in its pre production stage; attached to direct the film was none other than True Detective director Cary Joji Fukunaga, who hired British actor Will Poulter (The Revenant) as the villain Pennywise. Fukunaga is a talented director, and his vision for the film would have been something memorable, but unfortunately the studio didn’t quite agree and they parted ways due to creative differences. Fukunaga is still receiving a writing credit on the film, because the main bulk of his script is still going to be used. Andres Muschietti was tasked with making the changes to the script that the studio wanted. Will Poulter left the project shortly after Fukunaga parted ways with the film, due to scheduling conflicts.
First Impressions
Based on what we’ve seen from the trailer, it looks as if Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise is going to give us a nightmarish portrayal of the killer clown, and another interpretation that could be as good as Tim Curry’s. It’s the villains of the story that really gets us off our sofas and into the cinemas. The Joker, Darth Vader, Hannibal Lecter and The Terminator to just name a few. We all have big aspirations for IT, and if it’s not too presumptuous, it would be refreshing to see a horror film possibly getting an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. Maybe that’s a bit hasty, either way, we all float down here.
Read our review of the 2017 adaptation of It to find out what we thought of the film.
