I wasn’t as big a fan of Andy Muschietti‘s Mama as many others were, but I was able to recognize his talent behind the camera and it appears that talent has landed him a prime gig. Following Cary Fukunaga‘s departure from the adaptation of Stephen King‘s “IT“, when it was reported Fukunaga was unhappy with the film’s budget issues as it moved from Warner Bros. to New Line, we learned the film still had life. New Line still wanted to make a two-part feature and were looking for a director to step into Fukunaga’s shoes and, according to THR, that director will be Muschietti.
Under Fukunaga the film was to begin shooting last month, but now a new start date has not yet been set as New Line is now looking for a new screenwriter to continue crafting the story. It’s also unclear as to whether Will Poulter will remain on board, as he was previously cast to play the villainous Pennywise the Clown.
Personally I’m not too concerned over that casting, but I am happy to hear they are keeping the film as a two-part feature as the length of the novel and amount of story suits something of that size, especially given the fact the film is split between the first half focusing on a group of children and their dealings with Pennywise and the second half focused on the grown-up versions of said kids, following their lives with a story that begins 30 years earlier as they come together over summer break to take on the monster that’s haunting their town, battling their own personal monsters in the process.
Coincidentally this isn’t the first time Muschietti has been attached to a King project having been named the director of an adaptation of King’s “The Jaunt” earlier this year. There is no mention in the THR article about that project so I can only assume it has been back-burnered.
It will be interesting to read where this project heads next.
