Following the disappointing exit of True Detective and Jane Eyre‘s Cary Fukunaga, the fate of Stephen King’s It seemed unclear. Reports however, indicated the new adaptation would still move forward and the search for a replacement was underway. Today, THR has learned Mama‘s Andy Muschietti is in negotiations to take over the project, still envisioned as a two-parter.
Produced by Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Seth Grahame-Smith and Jeffrey Katzenberg, the new adaptation of It is expected to unfold over two features. Fukunaga’s film was to have them separated by the age of the characters, as the book sees a group of friends face the terrifying entity both in childhood and adulthood. It now seems the script will be rewritten for Muschietti.
Muschietti was at one point expected to direct Universal’s upcoming The Mummy, the film to properly kick off their new Monsterverse. Meanwhile, King’s works are primed to hit the big and small screens in a big way, with It and adaptations of The Stand and The Dark Tower moving forward.
It will eventually hit from New Line, which is refocusing back to an explicitly horror output. Two Untitled New Line horror films are expected in January and September of 2016. Last fall, New Line released The Conjuring spin-off, Annabelle and found footage horror The Gallows is currently in theaters.
