Horror is going to grow up next year when Andy Muschietti's IT: Chapter Two debuts. The film will reintroduce us to the Losers Club in their adult forms, as they once again face off against Pennywise 27 years after their initial encounters with the demonic clown. There's a lot of fan anticipation to see what the new actors do with these roles, and according to original IT star Chosen Jacobs, there was a lot of collaboration when the old and young actors met. The Mike Hanlon actor explained:
We met the older cast, and they did such a phenomenal job with casting for each role. Seeing everyone in person, it's so accurate. Especially for me. I felt like Isaiah is the perfect match for Older Mike Hanlon. It was an awesome thing, and we collaborated. He asked me questions on, 'Okay, how do you think about this?' and 'How do you think Mike would play this?' And I just sat down, gave him my embodiment of it. I trust him as an actor to make his own decisions as Mike Hanlon, but then just giving him how I viewed Mike, and just giving him little pointers of how I think Mike would act. With his skill level as an actor, he'll run with that. I have total faith in all of our older versions to just kill the roles. But meeting him in person did give me a lot of peace and solace that the film was in good hands.
So, it seems that there has been a fair amount of collaboration between the younger IT actors and the adult performers who have stepped in to take the reins. All of the newcomers are experienced in their own ways, but as Chosen Jacobs explained in his recent interview with Comicbook.com, the new actors have consulted with the stars of the original film to create a sense of cohesion between the worlds.
It's also worth addressing the fact that IT: Chapter Two has amassed some incredible talent to take over these beloved roles. In addition to Isaiah Mustafa taking over as Mike Hanlon, the sequel also has enlisted actors like Molly's Game actress Jessica Chastain and Split star James McAvoy to play Beverly Marsh and Bill Denbrough respectively. If IT: Chapter Two is anything like the source material, then the Losers will change quite a bit between their original journey and their adult adventure, but this collaboration between the young and old actors will still help establish a sense that these are indeed the same characters.
Audiences will get to see where director Andy Muschietti and this new version of the Losers Club takes the Stephen King world when IT: Chapter Two debuts in theaters on September 6, 2019. For now, check out our 2018 movie premiere guide to see what else is coming to theaters this year!
