The latest adaptation of Stephen King’s It arrives in theaters this weekend, and it looks like Pennywise the Clown won’t be stopping his reign of terror anytime soon.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, a sequel is already moving forward, with Gary Dauberman, who co-wrote the first film, signed to write the screenplay. Splitting King’s massive story into two parts was the studio’s intent from the get-go (and almost a necessity since the novel clocks in at a staggering 1459 pages), and the early greenlight seems natural given interest in the property seems to be at an all-time high. The first trailer of the new rendition garnered more than 197 million views across all platforms during the course of its first 24 hours, and the film is tracking for a monster opening.
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The first film is set to cover the Losers’ Club — the story’s group of pre-teen protagonists — during their first encounter with Pennywise, and the sequel will portray older versions of the characters dealing with the murderous clown’s return 27 years later.
The sequel will likely include flashbacks featuring the younger actors, meaning new deals will need to be struck to bring back the original core of emerging cast members. Similarly, no sequel deal has yet been made between New Line and It director Andy Muschietti, although bringing back the director seems likely given early box office tracking has the film ready to exceed expectations. Analysts are now predicting the horror flick will bring in north of $60 million instead of the earlier $50 million dollar estimates.
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Based on Stephen King’s classic novel of the same name, It stars Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise, Finn Wolfhard, Jaeden Lieberher, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Jack Dylan Grazer, Chosen Jacobs, Wyatt Oleff, Nicholas Hamilton, Owen Teague and Logan Thompson. The film floats its way into theaters on Sept. 8.