Throughout Bill Hader's career, he has showed again and again his ability to take on any new project and absolutely crush it. The actor had his start on Saturday Night Live, and has since starred in more comedic roles, lent his voice to animated characters, and dabbled in dramatic work. Soon he will take on horror in IT: Chapter 2, as the genre enjoys a new golden age. Since production wrapped on the film this week, Hader shared his experience on the project with these words:
It's really great. It's very emotional. The cast is amazing... It's really scary obviously, but I was surprised at how emotional it was. It's really a story about these people and this kind of trauma that they all went through.
Per Bill Hader's words to IndieWire, get ready for not only Pennywise-related chills, but some genuinely emotional scenes as well. The 2017 IT found incredible success, dethroning The Sixth Sense as the highest-grossing horror film of all time, and boasting the best fall opening weekend ever. The film followed a group of kids faced with defeating the terrifying clown-faced monster who preyed on them.
While thrills and scares played a crucial role in IT, so did the well-developed relationships between the band of bullied children, creating not only a fun ride but one with deeply interesting protagonists.
IT: Chapter 2 will follow the Losers' Club kids 27 years later. Now adults established in their careers, many of the Losers left the small town of Derry, Maine behind them after that traumatic childhood experience. Chapter 2 features an impressive cast to play older versions of the characters we met in the first film, but the sequel will still include the young Losers' Club in flashback sequences.
In a perfect casting move, Bill Hader is portraying the foul-mouthed and fast-talking Richie Tozier, who was played by teen Strangers Things star Finn Wolfhard in the first film. It was Wolfhard who actually suggested Hader play his adult counterpart before casting was in progress.
Jessica Chastain is playing older Beverly Marsh, and she was also a hand-picked choice by young Beverly star Sophia Lillis. Additionally, James McAvoy will be Bill Denbrough, Jay Ryan will be Ben Hanscom, and Isaiah Mustafa is Mike Hanlon. Chapter 2 will continue to adapt Stephen King's book, which followed both the younger and older kids -- as seen in the 1990 film -- this time allowing for more time to align more closely with the source material. Director Andy Muschietti returned to direct the sequel, this time even including the some of the even weirder elements of King's novel.
Considering how the sequel is being approached, it makes complete sense how Bill Hader came away from Chapter 2 feeling this way. Audiences will soon get to experience it too when IT: Chapter 2 comes to theaters on September 6, 2019. Until then, check out our complete guide of everything we know to learn more about the upcoming sequel.
