Stay Out of the Sewers, Kids, Because That's Where It Lives

One very important thing I learned here is that clowns are scary when they’re not smiling but even scarier when they are. Also, the look and feel of the cultural scourge that is Stranger Things is in the water; while the original It was clearly the referent for Stranger Things, the insidiousness of the Netflix series means that every time I see a group of children riding bikes through an idyllic suburb, I will be forced to think of Barb.

Because the source material is so enormous, the movie is being split into two parts. Director Andres Muschietti told Variety that if all goes according to plan —i.e if the movie is good and not horrible — they’ll start filming the next part in March 2018. Bloody Disgusting’s write-up of their set visit is an interesting read and provides more clarity on the two-parter.

The movie will be split into two factions, with one film showing the Losers Club as children, and the sequel supposedly revolving around the characters as adults. Muschietti says that if the sequel is greenlit, and he’s behind the wheel, he’d like to include flashbacks to events that happened to each of the characters when they were kids, and include footage of the younger characters that would not be shown in the first film.

For those loyal to the miniseries version, they should prep themselves thusly: per Bloody Disgusting, this iteration is a “theatrical adaptation of the book” which sounds exciting and much better than a 2017 reboot of a miniseries from 1990. Also, Muschietti, who directed the truly terrifying Mama, secured an R-rating for the movie, giving me hope that it might actually be scary.

It will be in theaters September 8.