New It: Chapter Two Featurette Promises A Terrifying Follow-Up Tale
The Losers' Club is headed back to the bloodied streets and sewers of Derry this fall — and a creep-tastic new behind-the-scenes featurette for the anxiously awaited sequel to 2017's record breaking fright-fest It is promising to double down on the thrills, the chills, and of course, the Pennywise.
As It mastermind Stephen King so eloquently (and ominously) states in the opening moments of the new video, fans of the first film "wanted more, so now they're gonna get more." And more of everything is exactly what's in store for It fans in Chapter Two. We learned recently that the film will clock in at an epic 2 hours and 45 minutes. We also know that It: Chapter Two will indeed feature a couple of the more controversial elements from King's book, and what may well be the bloodiest scene ever filmed in a horror movie.
Bill Hader (who plays adult Ritchie in the film) backs that "more is more" mentality for Chapter Two by confirming that the film sees returning director Andy Muschietti "going for broke as far as scope and scares." To that point, the director himself chimes in stating that It: Chapter Two will follow the tone of its predecessor, but will also "crank up the horror aspects of it." This all should be good news for fans of the source material, as it appears Muschietti and Chapter Two screenwriter Gary Dauberman have indeed gone all-in on trying to stay true to King's horrific literary vision.
Just as a quick refresher for those who haven't been keeping up, It: Chapter One followed the travails of a group of teen outsiders in the sleepy town of Derry, Maine who — after a gruesome tragedy befalls one of their siblings — uncover a beastly, fear-hungry presence feeding on the town's children in the guise of a creepy clown called Pennywise (played to chilling effect by Bill Skarsgård). Chapter One ends with the brave, whip-smart teens defeating (but not destroying) the beast, and agreeing to return to Derry and finish the job should Pennywise ever come back. It: Chapter Two picks up 27 years later, and finds Pennywise again wreaking havoc in Derry. It also finds the now-adult Losers' Club (played by Hader, Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Jay Ryan, Isaiah Mustafa, James Ransone, and Jake Weary) back in town to finish off the evil dancing clown once and for all.
That will be no easy task, of course, and pretty much everyone involved in It: Chapter Two has teased that Pennywise will be more savage than ever in the upcoming film. Adding tension to the mix is the emotional journey of the adult Losers, who will have to confront their deepest fears to dispatch with the murderous clown. If some of the footage scattered throughout this new featurette are to be believed, well, those fears are bigger, bleaker, and bloodier than we can imagine. That being said, there isn't much in this video that we haven't already been teased with. But there are a couple of wild-looking moments (i.e., that blood-soaked bathroom shot and the seriously disturbing refrigerator scene) that will leave some peeking through their fingers.
Per actor Jay Ryan, It: Chapter Two will indeed feature "a handful of moments that will make you not sleep at night." But, as the cast members are apt to point out, It: Chapter Two is not all about noble vengeance, shocking jump scares, and excessive bloodletting. As was the case with the 2017 flick, the sequel will take a character-first approach to the terror. King himself was quick to heap praise on Muschietti's approach, noting in the featurette, "Andy put people first with It, and the result is an old-fashioned movie experience where you root for the good guys." Jessica Chastain's savvy assertion that Chapter Two "is more than just a horror film, it's really a coming of age film" only seems to back that sentiment up.
Luckily, we won't have to wait too much longer to see what horrors Muschietti and co. are planning to unleash on their all-too-human characters. It: Chapter Two is scheduled to terrorize moviegoers everywhere starting on September 6, and that date just can't get here fast enough for horror fans.