It: Chapter Two Writer Explains How That Surprise Cameo Came To Be

When you think about celebrity cameos in movies, two names may come to mind before all others: Stan Lee and Stephen King. Both were and are masters of their genre, and they loved showing up in films based on their creations. But in It: Chapter Two, there’s a little bit more to King’s cameo than what meets the eye.

The sequel to the highest grossing R-rated horror movie of all time is now in theaters, creating an entire new generation of coulrophobics. And like so many other movies based on Stephen King books, the author once again shows up for a cameo. This time, though, it was kind of funny.

You see, King plays the owner of a pawn shop where grown up Bill finds “Silver,” his old bicycle. The Losers’ Club has returned to Derry, Maine, this time, to fight Pennywise as adults. And it’s there that their leader finds himself face to face with his maker, essentially.

In the movie, like King in real life, Bill’s an author. And also in the film, like the master of horror, he faces criticism from his fans for his books’ endings. The pawn shop owner rolls his eyes when he sees Bill, throwing shade at anyone who gives King crap for the endings of his books. And as revealed in a recent interview with Inverse, it was that inside joke that Gary Dauberman, screenwriter for the film, had in mind when he put the scene in.

But Dauberman wants to make sure the world knows it is really just a joke, telling the outlet the following about how the cameo came to be:

“I wrote him into the script just along the lines of, Looks like Stephen King, early on in the drafts. You know, just kind of planting the seed,” he says. “He’s done cameos before, but it had been a very long time since he’s done one.”

“You just kind of hope, fingers crossed. If it works, great. If not, that’s fine too, but man, wouldn’t be so much better if it did work? So you plant that seed.”

“I think he has stuck the landing over and over again on many of his stories though. The proof is in the pudding on that,” Dauberman said to Inverse.

It: Chapter Two is now nearing the $200 million box office mark and is still waiting to fuel those nightmares of yours at a theater near you. So if you haven’t seen it yet, be sure to catch it this weekend.