Since being published in 1986, Stephen King’s It has risen to become one of the author’s most celebrated visions, and the recipient of two screen adaptations. While there’s been recurring talk of a third It movie that will expand on what we saw in the films, reports are now surfacing that King himself is working on a sequel to his own book.
Although we have to view this with a grain of salt, The Vulcan Reporter claims that this novel will be set in the same world as the writer’s other stories, something that’s now pretty much assumed, and apparently, the plot and themes will involve a big focus on drugs, with addiction being a topic that King has dealt with in detail across his bibliography.
Here’s the full breakdown of what could be happening:
“I have learned that Stephen King is working on a sequel to his IT book. Not much is known about this IT sequel, outside of that it is definitely set in the same world(s?) as Stephen King’s other books. It will have a heavy focus on drugs, which makes sense seeing as how the IT movie sequel also heavily focused on drugs.”
Of course, nothing is official yet, and a new take on It isn’t something that King has particularly been keen on in the past, considering the depth that the original epic went into. Moreover, the author rarely writes direct sequels, choosing instead to fold his short stories and full-length novels into a wider universe. Indeed, if you exempt some of his short fiction and The Dark Tower series, as well as Black House, the only direct extension of one of King’s previous, most well known hits is arguably Doctor Sleep.
It could be that the author is getting ahead of the discussion of a new movie based on the inhabitants of Derry, with screenwriter Gary Dauberman having previously hinted that there’s plenty more that can be mined from the property. Given the success of the It franchise at the box office, and the general love for all things Pennywise, there’s no doubt that a new release would be a major hit. The risk is, though, that King could end up tarnishing what he achieved with his 1980s classic.
Do you think it’s likely that he’s planning an It follow-up, though? As ever, let us know in the comments section down below.