Every 27 years, the town of Derry is paralyzed by Pennywise the Dancing Clown, an otherworldly sewer-dweller that feasts on the flesh of hapless children.
That is, in essence, the elevator pitch to Stephen King’s horror masterclass, It, which is now the talk of the town (read: Internet) thanks to New Line and Andy Muschietti’s big-screen adaptation. As our own Matt Donato noted in his glowing review, Muschietti’s rendition of the King classic is an exercise in nerve-shredding tension, and it’s a credit to the so-called Losers Club that It deftly balances horror and heart, even as Pennywise’s reign of terror begins to reach its bloody conclusion. For the next 27 years, at least.
Speaking of which, buoyed by the movie’s landmark success – for the record, It enjoyed the biggest opening for a horror film ever with $123 million domestically – the Powers That Be have gone ahead and issued the green light on It: Chapter 2, which will revisit the Losers Club 27 years after the fact. And so, in honoring their blood pact, all of Derry’s freaks and geeks band together to finish off Pennywise once and for all, and with the studio said to be targeting a 2019 release, the Losers Club cast have cherry-picked the Hollywood stars they’d like to see play their adult counterparts in two years’ time.
New Line, are you listening? Here’s a gallery featuring all six members of the Losers Club along with the actors/actress they’d like to see headline the inevitable second chapter.
From Christian Bale to Jessica Chastain (X-Men: Dark Phoenix), Chris Pratt (Avengers: Infinity War) to Joseph Gordon-Levitt, it makes for quite the wish list, but after scoring a record opening at the box office, we imagine New Line will leave no stone unturned in their casting spree for It: Chapter 2.
For the time being, though, Pennywise continues to reign supreme at the worldwide box office, and let’s be honest: It isn’t about to let go of that #1 spot anytime soon. As for the inevitable follow-up, by the looks of things New Line has gone with It: Chapter 2 as the official title – not It: You’ll Float 2 or It: Pennywise Strikes Back, sadly.