Horror fans had high hopes for Cary Fukunaga’s planned adaptation of Stephen King classic “It”, before the director abruptly left the project back in May. So, Muschietti inevitably has an appeal to the New Line producers of Dan Lin, Seth Grahame-Smith, and David Katzenberg, who have been anxious to acquire a new filmmaker for the project.
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The two-part adaptation of It was supposed to start shooting in late June; a new start date hasn’t yet been confirmed. The titular fiend of Stephen King‘s It, Pennywise can take many forms, not lost of which is the shape of a homicidal and villainous clown who was memorably played by Tim Curry in a television miniseries. A new script will be written with Muschietti overseeing it, although a writer has yet to be chosen.
Based on the 1986 bestseller, It was first adapted as a TV movie/miniseries that aired in two 90-minute parts in 1990. The forgettable horror film did star Oscar-nominated actress Jessica Chastain in addition to Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, but proved somewhat polarizing with critics as it now holds a 65% on Rotten Tomatoes.
If Muschietti is attached, he will probably bring along his sister and writing partner Barbara Muschietti as a producer. The picture scared up $71 million domestically on a budget of only $15 million.
Muschietti has been attached to other films in the past including the “Mummy” remake and was rumored to be working on another project for Universal, but this seems to be the new direction he’s moving in. However, “creative differences” popped up a month or two ago, and Fukunaga ended up leaving the New Line-funded project.
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Jon Silk is executive producing It.
