We haven’t seen the last of Pennywise the Dancing Clown.
Mere weeks after hitting theatres, New Line has already assigned a release date to their It sequel, announcing that the film will be with us on Sept 6th, 2019. So, basically the exact same weekend that the first one opened on. And that makes sense, too, given how well the movie’s performed thus far at the box office.
Tentatively titled It: Chapter 2, the sequel will pick up with the Losers Club 27 years after the events of It. Given that, we’re unclear as yet whether the film will herald the return of Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things), Sophia Lillis and the rest of the gang, but assuming director Andy Muschietti and Co. incorporate flashbacks into the story, there’s a very good chance New Line’s sequel will feature both the original Losers Club and their adult counterparts, as the fight against Pennywise begins to reach its bloody conclusion. Chalk that up as conjecture for now, though, as there’s currently no script in place for Part 2.
One person who will certainly be back, however, is Bill Skarsgard, who’s all set to suit up again as the evil clown. In fact, in a recent interview, the actor promised that the sequel would explore his character more in depth, saying:
“I am attached to it but that’s all I can say, we’re in the early stages and I’m talking to Andy about it and figuring out what It will be. It’s a different story but I’m excited to delve in deeper to the character as there’s more exploration for who Pennywise is. I think we’ll see where it goes but it’s definitely just… reading the movie and the book and talking about the second one, we have to raise the ante and not just do the same thing again so I’m looking forward to that process.”
Circling back to It though, and since the film’s launch on Friday, September 8th, it’s shattered one box office record after another, becoming the highest-grossing Stephen King adaptation on home turf – The Green Mile was the previous record-holder with $136 million – while the first Tuesday ($11.4 million) and Wednesday ($7.9 million) hauls are the best for any horror movie ever released in the month of September. Ditto for Thursday, September 14th, when Muschietti’s revival pulled in a record $7.2 million domestically. Not only that, but just last week, it also took down The Exorcist to earn the title of highest grossing horror pic.
Suffice it to say, it’s been an incredible first month for the movie and now that Pennywise has been banished for upwards of 27 years, the Losers Club will go their separate ways – at least, until the advent of It: Chapter 2 in 2019.
