It's been a long few years since Andy Muschietti's IT hit theaters, bringing Pennywise the Clown to the big screen for the first time. The movie was a critical darling, and made a whopping $700.4 million at the box office. A sequel was quickly green lit, with an outstanding cast of adult actors joining the franchise to play the grown up Losers' Club. But it turns out that at least one cast member could have been revealed in a planned post-credits scene for the first movie.
Credits scene have become commonplace since the inception of the MCU, with plenty of projects teasing future installments through brief bonus footage. Director Andy Muschietti considered doing just that at the end of the first IT movie, specifically related to the reveal of Jessica Chastain as an adult Bev Marsh. As he recently revealed:
Something a lot of people probably don’t know is Chapter One did have the idea to make a post-credit scene, which was Beverly Marsh picking up the phone. So, 27 years later, post credit, you would see a phone ringing. It’s an iPhone, so it’s impossible that it’s 1989, and a hand comes in and the camera wraps around this red-haired back of a head, and we turn around, and it’s Jessica Chastain!
FOMO alert. It looks like Jessica Chastain was always who the director had in mind to play Beverly in IT Chapter Two. And that reveal could have originally been made at the tail end of the 2017 movie. Alas, the casting announcement was left until a later date.
Andy Muschietti's comments to Huffpost are sure to excite the IT fans out there, and show how there was really only ever one actress to play grown up Bev. Chapter One introduced actress Sophia Lillis to audiences, and she played Beverly Marsh in a layered and emotional performance. She'll once again reprise her role in the upcoming sequel, although Jessica Chastain will largely be the one inhabiting the beloved Stephen King character.
Related: Why IT’s Bill Skarsgard Is Psyched To Work With Adult Actors In Chapter Two
It's interesting to think about the original credits scene, and how effective it ultimately would have been. On one hand, it would reveal that there were definitely plans for IT Chapter Two, in addition to revealing Jessica Chastain's upcoming (super bloody) horror role. But how surprising would the time jump forward be?
Stephen King's stories have generations of fans, and the story of IT was previously adapted in the Tim Curry-led miniseries. So there were certainly moviegoers who knew that the story was heading 27 years into the future. Then again, the first IT made a ton of money at the box office, so there were a fair share of newcomers and casual moviegoers heading in theaters.
There will be plenty of cinephiles eager to see how IT Chapter Two's events play out, as the initial response to the movie has been somewhat mixed. But it still hasn't had its wide release, allowing the public to decide feelings for themselves. Luckily, that wait is nearly over.
All will be revealed when IT Chapter Two hits theaters on September 6th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
