The following contains spoilers for IT, and its planned sequel. You might want to get out now if you haven't seen the movie IT, or read the book on which it is based.
Stephen King's IT made its way back to screens this weekend, dominating box office charts and practically guaranteeing a sequel. The members of the Losers Club survived their confrontation with the evil force known as Pennywise, agreeing to reunite if the clown ever came back. Spoiler: Pennywise comes back, and his return takes its toll on the Losers. Mike, in particular, will bear the brunt of Pennywise's power in IT: Chapter 2, according to director Andres Muschietti, who now says:
My idea of Mike in the second movie is quite darker from the book. I want to make his character the one pivotal character who brings them all together, but staying in Derry took a toll with him. I want him to be a junkie actually. A librarian junkie. When the second movie starts, he's a wreck.
Some of that still draws from the book. In Stephen King's book, Mike is the member of the Losers' Club who stays in Derry to keep an eye on IT, and he's the one who calls each member of the crew when he suspects that IT has returned. But making him a drug addict is a serious turn, though one that seems necessary as we head into the sequel. Fans of King's book know that the toll of facing Pennywise damages the Losers. They don't outgrow the pain that came with confronting their deepest fears, and one Loser, in particular, won't be back for the rematch. But Andres Muschietti elaborates on why he wants to change Mike in IT: Chapter Two, saying to EW.COM:
He's not just the collector of knowledge of what Pennywise has been doing in Derry. He will bear the role of trying to figure out how to defeat him. The only way he can do that is to take drugs and alter his mind.
How else will Andres Muschietti change these beloved characters in the sequel? I have a feeling the director will feel empowered to really fuck with the Losers, knowing that he won an audience over, and can now raise the stakes.
Who do you think should play older Mike in the planned IT: Chapter Two? Young actor Chosen Jacobs told us in an exclusive interview that he'd love to see Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman playing Mike as an adult. And now that we know Mike will have a crippling addiction, I wonder if that makes the part more appealing to him. We shall see.
