Who called it? Jessica Chastain is in talks to play the older Beverly in part two of It, New Line’s adaptation of Stephen King’s novel.
It took many by surprise when it was released last summer and became a breakout hit. I am one of the biggest Stephen King fans (but that kind of No. 1 fan, wink, wink) and am always anxious to see what filmmakers do with his material. Adapting King’s work isn’t easy, and many films and TV adaptations have failed.
For example, the 2007 film The Mist, director/writer Frank Darabont’s take on King’s truly terrifying novella, is nothing short of amazing, but the follow-up 2017 TV series tanked. Darabont is actually about the only filmmaker who has ever truly gotten into King’s brain.
Now there are the folks behind It, who also totally nailed it, including producers Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg, writer Gary Dauberman – and most importantly, director Andy Muschietti. Instead of trying to tackle the entire opus in one movie, they wisely decided to break it up into two parts.
The first installment focused on one fateful summer in 1989, where seven middle-school friends decide to confront, and try to defeat, the pure evil plaguing their small Maine town – an evil which comes in the form of a clown called Pennywise. The second installment will center on those kids as adults, who must return to Derry to get rid of Pennywise for good. Bill Skarsgard will return as Pennywise.
Watching the original, you can’t help but want to cast who is going to play the kids as grown-ups. Maybe Bill Hader as the adult Richie or Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Bill. And in the case of Beverly, the red-headed misfit girl who has an abusive father but finds comfort with her friends, and played beautifully by Sophia Lillis, Jessica Chastain immediately comes to mind. How can she not? She’s perfect.
Apparently, we are all casting geniuses because according to The Hollywood Reporter Chastain has been linked to the sequel since the first one opened. She also has a working relationship with Muschietti, who directed her in the underrated thriller Mama. So, yeah, it’s a slam dunk. Let’s see who else they get.
It: Part 2 will be released September 6, 2019.
