Stephen King's It Sequel Could Start Production Soon

The much-anticipated adaptation of Stephen King's classic novel It doesn't arrive in theaters for two months, but plans for the sequel are already underway. It has been reported that the second part of King's epic horror saga could start pre-production next spring.

In a new interview with Variety, director Andres Muschietti confirmed that he would start work on the It sequel soon. "We'll probably have a script for the second part in January," he said. "Ideally, we would start prep in March. Part one is only about the kids. Part two is about these characters 30 years later as adults, with flashbacks to 1989 when they were kids."

While it isn't surprising that Warner is making plans for the second movie, the studio is clearly confident enough to move forward with it before the first one has been released. Pre-production in March means that the film is likely to start shooting by the summer, making a 2019 release probable.

Muschietti also explained how the new film would differ from the 1990 TV adaptation that starred Tim Curry as the demonic clown Pennywise. "People who read the book and got the book, they're not crazy about the miniseries," he said. "It was a very watered-down version. It didn't contain the darkness that the book had. They couldn't make something for TV about a clown who eats children."

"I wanted to stay true to the essence of [Pennywise]," he continued. "I knew that I didn't want to go the road of Tim Curry. Bill Skarsgard caught my attention. The character has a childish and sweet demeanor, but there's something very off about him. Bill has that balance in him. He can be sweet and cute, but he can be pretty disturbing."

It comes to theaters on September 8. A first trailer was released in April, and this creepy clip followed in May. The movie features at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend, so it's likely we will see some more footage soon.

In related news, it was reported this week that Muschietti has also signed on to develop a live-action version of the classic '80s animated series Robotech.