In the latest, “one novel being split into a two-part film adaptation” news, director Andrés Muschietti has confirmed that his take on Stephen King’s horror classic “It” will unfold over the course of two R-rated movies. In an interview with Variety, Muschietti goes into detail about the production process of his first “It” film (which is out in September), the contemporaneous development of Part II, and his philosophy of horror cinema.
As a refresher, here’s the official synopsis for the upcoming “It:”
When children begin to disappear in the town of Derry, Maine, a group of young kids are faced with their biggest fears when they square off against an evil clown named Pennywise, whose history of murder and violence dates back for centuries.
For anyone concerned that Muschietti might’ve been neutered by the studio in his big screen approach to King’s ultimate tale of horror, he reassures everyone he got the necessary boundaries to do the source material justice.
“I’m so excited that it’s rated R. I don’t feel that we held back in any aspect,” he said.
As for the sequel, it looks like it’s full steam ahead. “We are doing that. We’ll probably have a script for the second part in January. Ideally, we would start prep in March. Part one is only about the kids. Part two is about these characters 30 years later as adults, with flashbacks to 1989 when they were kids,” he shared.
READ MORE: Pennywise Returns In First Trailer For Stephen King’s ‘It’
And regarding his philosophy on horror, Muschietti put it very simply: “Stay true to what scares you. If you don’t respect that, you can’t scare anyone.”
Andrés Muschietti’s “It” opens on September 8th.