Director Andy Muschietti had an enormous responsibility on his plate with his 2017 film IT. For one thing, he was taking over for another director, True Detective and Bond 25’s Cary Joji Fukunaga, who left the project over creative differences. Andy Muschietti was also tasked with adapting Stephen King’s beloved and terrifying tome, which had already been adapted with an iconic 1990 TV miniseries. Fortunately, the success of Andy Muschietti’s IT meant that the director was "more comfortable" directing Chapter 2, as he explained:
In general, I feel more comfortable. I have more toys. On the first one, I was struggling to get a Technocrane [a massive telescopic crane for a camera] on certain days. But now the Technocrane is always there!
Just the experience of getting through the first film likely made Andy Muschietti more comfortable with the material and the process for the second go-around, but it sounds like a lot of his comfort came from having more to work with. That is due to the incredible success of the first movie.
The first IT was made on a budget of $35 million and went on to make $700.3 million, becoming the most commercially successful horror movie of all time and a critical hit to boot. Hitting a grand slam like that would instill a level of comfort and confidence in anybody for their next at bat.
It also apparently gave the studio more confidence, and while we don’t know the exact budget on IT Chapter 2, it sounds like the moneymen were more willing to loosen up the purse strings.
As Andy Muschietti told Entertainment Weekly, he didn’t have to fight to get a Technocrane for the production of IT Chapter 2 when he needed it. Instead, it was always on set and available to him. Not having to struggle as much sounds like it made for a generally more comfortable filming experience for the director. What a difference $700 million dollars makes!
With the Technocrane there when he needs it and a greater level of comfort, Andy Muschietti is looking to up the ante in IT Chapter 2. He said:
I think that everything that people love from the first one, like the humor and the emotions and the horror, will all be there, and cranked up, in some cases.
For people who loved the first IT, this is great to hear. Andy Muschietti knows what worked about the first film and he is comfortable incorporating those elements into the sequel, which is really just all part of one big story. The emotions between the Losers’ Club, the jump-out-of-your-seat horror and the laughs between the screams will all be present in IT Chapter 2.
These elements that made IT such a hit will actually be taken up a notch in IT Chapter 2 as well. Andy Muschietti has said that he intends for the sequel to be even scarier, and Bill Skarsgård, who plays Pennywise, has promised that the clown will be more vicious this time around. Bill Hader, who plays the adult Richie Tozier, has also spoken about being surprised by how emotional the sequel was.
A more comfortable director and a sequel that elevates the first film’s best elements bode quite well for IT Chapter 2. We’ve still got a couple of months to go until this sequel arrives, but IT Chapter 2 will be present at the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con as part of Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema’s ScareDiego panel. With any luck, we’ll get another new trailer then.
IT Chapter 2 opens in theaters on September 6. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to prep for all the biggest movies coming in the second half of this year.
