Director Cary Fukunaga departs adaptation of Stephen King’s It

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Less than a month before filming was set to begin on Cary Fukunaga's two-part adaptation of Stephen King's epic novel IT, things have run into a wall, as the director has exited the project over creative differences.

According to TheWrap, those differences were largely budgetary, as Fukunaga had been clashing with studio New Line Cinema over various issues, including recent script drafts coming in over the $30 million budget; the director wanting to film in New York, which is a more costly location than other options; and even who to cast as the villain. Fukunaga had wanted Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn for the role of the evil Pennywise the Clown, but his asking price was too high.

Speaking of clowns, one of TheWrap's sources confided in them that the studio was rethinking bringing Pennywise back to the screen because the Poltergeist remake featured a clown in its marketing and was only expected to open with around $20 million. (Poltergeist ended up at #5 at the box office for its opening weekend, bringing in $26.5 million.) Absurd reasoning, and yet somehow believable.

It's a shame to see Fukunaga leave IT, as it was the TRUE DETECTIVE director's involvement that really had me interested in seeing a new version of the story, and it sounded like he was approaching it in exactly the right way – make one movie about the children of Derry, Maine taking on Pennywise, then make a second about them finishing the job as adults.

IT has now been pushed indefinitely, and it's not clear how the studio may proceed. Some insiders expect them to scrap what Fukunaga had planned and pursue adapting the novel into just one movie. Also unclear is where all of this leaves Will Poulter, who entered negotiations to play Pennywise earlier this month.

With this news, my high hopes for a new IT are now floating in the sewer.