Movie Interview: Director Andy Muschietti on IT: Chapter Two

All of your worst fears have returned. In the sequel to the highest-grossing horror film of all time, director Andy Muschietti reunites the Losers Club, 27 years after the adolescents defeated Pennywise. Now adults, the Losers have long since gone their separate ways, and don’t fully remember the terror that once plagued them. But they must yet again face their deepest fears to destroy Pennywise once and for all – which means, the audience must, too.

Muschietti, though, never really escaped Pennywise’s clutches. While the first film was busy racking up critical praise and box-office records, Muschietti had already plunged headlong into writing the final chapter of what was always meant to be a two-film adaptation of Stephen King’s novel – but the fan enthusiasm certainly added to the sense of urgency.

“The hook effect in the whole thing was incredible,” says the Argentine director, who first achieved widespread critical acclaim with his 2013 horror Mama. “People became emotionally invested in the characters and the story, and at the end of the movie, there was a promise of something to come. Basically, if IT returns, the Losers will, too. I shared the moviegoers’ need to see the second half of the story, the conclusion. This second chapter is as necessary to tell as the first. I couldn’t have been more excited to jump in and start imagining what that would be.”

Muschietti has a collaborative relationship with screenwriter Gary Dauberman, who wrote both IT and IT2, but the duo were also honoured and thrilled that Stephen King was happy to give them feedback.

“I actually wanted to involve him more in this film,” notes Muschietti. “Stephen is very respectful of adaptations, and our communications with him started when we were nearly finished with the first chapter. The first time we talked was after he saw IT, and he had good things to say. Now that we had at least established our relationship, I wanted him to give me his thoughts on our ideas for Chapter Two. I wanted to see what he thought of it, and he was cool with it and thought the story worked.”

The film becomes a dialogue between the characters’ childhood fears, and how they have all been, in many ways, damaged and defined by their experiences with Pennywise. To include the time jumps back to 1989, Muschietti says his goal was to integrate the flashbacks “into the main plot and the journeys of each of the Losers, not just have them exist as character scenes. For example, we see Ben as a lonely boy, afraid of ending his days alone. We get a glimpse of Beverly, where it’s clear that she loves her father, despite his treatment of her. These behaviours play out all through their lives, with relapses and cycles that become worse and worse. But they have an origin in something specific, something we didn’t know about the Losers as children and something we haven’t seen until now.”
But Pennywise and his techniques have evolved, too, as the Losers have grown up.

“He’s changed, in the sense that the fears are more about things that frighten us as adults,” explains the director. “They are, of course, related to an event that happened in the Losers’ childhoods, but they have evolved into fears that are more relevant to them as adults.”

The director points out another skill the shape-shifter has developed while away.

“One of the first encounters he has with a child in this film, we recognise it as a mirror scene of what happened with Georgie. But now, there is a sophisticated manipulation that he employs. He’s more cunning and therefore, deadlier. Perverse and much more dangerous. It’s chilling.”

Of course, this meant that Muschietti and actor Bill Skarsgård had to try and make Pennywise even more terrifying than before – and Skarsgård was up for the challenge.

“This time, we really pushed Bill to the limit, and he accepted that and then went even further,” says Muschietti. “Pennywise appears in many forms and, many times, he is completely out of control. Bill did not hold back, ever. He always had this terrifying unpredictability to the character. Sometimes, he would even be unpredictable to me, and to himself, probably. But we always trusted each other, and the relationship that started on IT continued.”
The adult Losers are made up of incredible household names and talented character actors, among them Jessica Chastain as Beverly, Bill Hader as Richie and Isaiah Mustafa as Mike. Muschietti said he started mentally dream-casting the adult Losers while the first film was still in production.

“We always had that in mind. And I have to say, we got who I wanted! It happened very quickly, because all of the actors that signed on were very excited about doing the movie. I had talked with all of them in person and they were all down.”

IT: Chapter 2 has to blend a lot of visual styles to create huge scares, monsters and set-pieces. The film also has to make the characters and town of Derry look cohesive, while showing how they have changed over time. Most of the director’s vision was initially shared through drawings. An accomplished artist, Muschietti began character explorations early on with sketches, and arrived every morning to set with his own storyboards as a blueprint for the day’s scenes.

“Making a movie is an exercise in chaos,” he suggests. “You plan and prepare yourself as much as possible to counter that chaos. At the same time, you have to be open to things that change on the day. It’s very important that you have a good understanding of every beat, every scene, and what each character is going through at every point in the process. I’m always open to the question. A lot of times, actors will bring you to understand the story on deeper and deeper levels.

“This project,” he concludes, “has attained levels I never dreamt of. To be trusted with this epic story, and be able to tell it over two films has been unbelievable. I’m deeply grateful how much it connected with audiences, and how they are waiting, like me, to watch and see how the journey ends. I truly believe you are going to be very scared, but you will also leave the theatre uplifted.”

IT: Chapter 2 is in cinemas now