Back in May, we learned that Warner Bros. subsidiary New Line Cinema was taking on the long-gestating two-film adaptation of Stephen King's beloved 1986 novel, IT, a project that already had True Detective's Cary Fukunaga in the director's chair. Though news on the project has been relatively silent since then, it's now been revealed that shooting on IT is set to begin this summer off a screenplay that has King's blessing.
In an interview with Vulture, IT producer Dan Lin had the following to say about the upcoming adaptation of King's masterful novel (via Collider):
"The idea is to start official prep in March for a summer shoot.
The most important thing is that Stephen King gave us his blessing. We didn’t want to make this unless he felt it was the right way to go, and when we sent him the script, the response that Cary got back was, ‘Go with God, please! This is the version the studio should make.’"
Similar to the 1990 ABC two-part TV movie adaptation, the new IT adaption is planned to be made as two films, the first focusing on the members of the close-knit Losers Club as kids and the second one following them as adults who have grown apart but must reunite in Derry, Maine, to once again stand up to the ancient evil that lurks in their hometown.
Cary Fukunaga will direct off a screenplay adaptation he's writing with Chase Palmer. Though Cary is only confirmed to co-write and direct the first of the planned two films, Lin revealed that Cary is in negotiations to co-write the second film, a deal that could very well lead to his directing the follow-up, as well.
It's not yet known what time periods the IT movie will take place in, as Cary and Chase could either follow the book and set the story in the 1950s and 1980s, or opt for more contemporary settings. No casting details are known at this time, but we'll keep Daily Dead readers updated on further announcements. For those that haven’t read the novel, here is the official plot synopsis:
“A promise made twenty-eight years ago calls seven adults to reunite in Derry, Maine, where as teenagers they battled an evil creature that preyed on the city’s children. Unsure that their Losers Club had vanquished the creature all those years ago, the seven had vowed to return to Derry if IT should ever reappear. Now, children are being murdered again and their repressed memories of that summer return as they prepare to do battle with the monster lurking in Derry’s sewers once more.”
To read our latest coverage on another upcoming multi-film adaptation of a different Stephen King novel, The Stand, visit:
Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.
When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.
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