2017 brought us the first installment of director Andy Muschietti’s adaptation of Stephen King’s legendary novel IT. It also brought the suspense of having to wait for the second half of the story, as the doorstopping length of that source book inspired Muschietti to split the story into two parts.
The first chapter delivered the childhood portion of the story, and now with a brand new photo from the director himself, we have our first look at the adult form of Bill Denbrough in IT: Chapter 2, played by James McAvoy:
While it’s not a full-body shot of McAvoy’s adult incarnation of the character originated by Jaeden Lieberher in IT, it looks like we’re seeing Bill indulging in one of his old habits. As the posture of James McAvoy’s body in the photo suggests, it looks like Bill’s riding a bike, more than likely his childhood steed Silver.
Bill is certainly going to need that bike, and any other support from his childhood memories he can get, as he and the entire Loser’s Club gang are reuniting in Derry to take on the evil known as Pennywise The Clown once again. After thirty years of relative peace, with his group of friends being scattered all over, it’s going to take more than just a slingshot to defeat the greatest fears of Bill and the rest of the gang.
With Andy Muschietti previously confirming that a lot of detail went into finding actors that could look and feel like their childhood incarnations, we’re starting to see that work really pay off. See for yourself, by comparing the photo of James McAvoy above with this photo of Jaeden Martell’s version of Bill from IT:
While we’ll have to wait until later this year to see how McAvoy’s performance captures the essence of Lieberher in IT: Chapter 2, there’s certainly a strong resemblance between the two actors in this photo from Andy Muschietti’s Instagram. This isn’t the first we’ve seen when it comes to the adult versions of The Losers Club, as we were treated to some footage of another scene at this year’s CinemaCon.
Through the clips shown to us from IT: Chapter 2, it sounds like James McAvoy isn’t the only example of adult actors sticking the landing on their aged portrayals of their younger counterparts. With a lot of that particular look at the film showing us Jessica Chastain’s Bev, and a few snippets of other Losers being shown, it feels like the fires of hype surrounding this momentous finale are starting to be stoked higher than ever.
IT: Chapter 2 invades our dreams, nightmares, and local theaters, on September 6; but if you want to see what else is heading our way in the months prior to the return to Derry, head over to the 2019 release schedule for further information.
