Stephen King

Have you seen It yet? How many times? It’s great, right? Adaptations of Stephen King’s work have always been iffy prospects, with about a 50/50 chance of actually being good. It looks like the year of King is soon to become the decade of King, as hot on the heels of It’s success, another director has turned his eye onto a similar project: King’s extremely creepy short story “Suffer the Little Children.”

Although Warner Bros. and New Line have yet to formally greenlight IT: Chapter Two, director Andy Muschietti and his producing partner (and sister) Barbara are already developing the follow-up to one of this year’s biggest hits. With a record-breaking opening weekend and screenwriter Gary Dauberman reportedly on board for the sequel, it shouldn’t be long before WB gives the go-ahead. Until then, Muschietti is spilling the beans on his plans for Chapter Two and how the young cast factors into the story, which is set 27 years after the first film.

The latest adaptation of IT hits theaters this weekend, bringing Stephen King’s horror epic back to frightening (and weirdly fun) life. But director Andy Muschietti and screenwriter Gary Dauberman have only given audiences half of the story, which takes place in the ’80s and follows a group of misfit tweens — self-described as the Losers Club — as they confront the evil entity that’s been killing kids in their town. The second half follows the Losers almost 30 years later, when they return home to destroy that evil once and for all. Before casting begins for the sequel, which won’t arrive until 2019, we came up with some ideas of our own.

Think the classic novel and miniseries is about a scary clown? A new video essay reveals the true meaning of Stephen King’s horror masterpiece.

Deadpool might need to watch his back. IT, the latest adaptation of Stephen King’s horror epic, just broke one of the R-rated box office champ’s records — and is primed to break a couple more before the end of the weekend. It’s doubtful that Pennywise will come close to overtaking the Merc With a Mouth’s massive box office haul, but it’s quite a win for the new horror film from Andy Muschietti, which already has a sequel in the works for 2019.

Before the latest adaptation of Stephen King’s IT even hit theaters, early box office predictions suggested anywhere from a $60 to $70 million opening. By contrast, this year’s other big King adaptation, The Dark Tower, has grossed $47.9 million domestic in the month since its release. While we wait for the initial box office numbers to roll in, New Line is already developing a sequel to IT, but it probably won’t hit theaters until 2019.

Stephen King adaptations are a dime a dozen these days (almost literally; rights to his books are famously cheap), but a good Stephen King adaptation, like a properly cooked steak or a movie where Harrison Ford is actually awake, is exceedingly rare. Of the two adaptations of beloved King novels released this year, the idea that IT might be the superior of the pair seemed laughable a few months ago. IT is better than The Dark Tower in every conceivable way, but beyond the inevitable comparison, it’s just really good. Scary good, even.

One of the most challenging parts of any Stephen King adaptation is walking that fine line between childhood fears and adult terror. It is a perfect example: how do you take images meant to be frightening to 12 and 13-year-olds and adjust them for an adult audience? This is the formula that King has used to make him one of the most successful authors of all time, but stepping outside of the characters’ heads  —  and behind a movie camera  —  only ramps up the challenge of balancing tone just right. That’s why it’s been so heartening to hear It director Andy Muschietti say all the right things in pre-release interviews. For better or worse, it sounds like he really gets it.

Andres Muschietti is fast becoming a highly demanded director in Hollywod, especially after what looks like a big success with his It movie. Muschietti has signed on to direct a live-action adaptation of anime Robotech, and has said he wants to do Stephen King’s Pet Sematary next after he’s finished with It. Which might be sooner rather than later, as the director plans to start working on It 2 before touching anything else.

There’s something up with Stephen King — rather, his house, which looks to have been taken over by a certain sinister clown. It’s a little tough to notice at first, but if you look very closely, it appears the master of horror literature has put a red balloon up in one of the front windows of his gorgeous home in Bangor, Maine to celebrate the impending release of It.