‘The F*cking Clown is Going to Live Forever’: Stephen King Unhappy With HBO Max’s IT Prequel
The terrifying Pennywise, a creative creation of Stephen King, might strike again. The IT franchise is based on King’s 1986 novel, set in the fictional town of Derry, Maine. The Losers Club, a group of young kids that the narrative was mainly about, suddenly find themselves in danger as a new fatal entity lurking around, is feeding on children. The kids then struggle to defeat Pennywise the Clown, but IT continues to rise yet again, even after 27 years.
IT has been adapted on screen many times, for the first time in the Tim Curry-starring miniseries that got mixed reviews from the critics but still has had a cult following since its release in the 1990 premiere. The novel was truly appreciated the second time around when Andy Muschietti’s adapted it into the IT movie, which was split into two parts covering both halves of the novel. The first film was a huge success both critically and at the Box office, grossing over $701 million against its estimated $40 million budget. The second installment couldn’t hold up to the standards of its predecessor, grossing only $473 million against its larger $79 million production budget.
Why Stephen King is Unhappy With IT Revival on HBO Max?
King recently appeared on the Bloody Disgusting’s Losers’ Club podcast and gave his two pennies’ worth on the future of the IT franchise. Firmly stating that he has no interest in revisiting the character in his writing. King nevertheless seemed interested in the upcoming HBO Max IT prequel series, claiming that it is “an okay idea.” In his own words:
“I think that when I die I will kind of disappear from the paperback racks. But that f—-ng clown is going to live forever. Well, I don’t have a relationship to Pennywise now. Because I have no intention of going back to IT… it’s in the hands of people who are doing this… Andy and Barbara [Muschietti] are going to do ‘Welcome to Derry,’ they’re talking about it anyway. And they’ve got sort of a handshake deal, I think, with HBO Max. It’s an interesting possibility to do that. They talked about a prequel. Which struck me as an okay idea. I’d love to see what Pennywise was up to 27 years before the ’50s. Or, I guess it would be the ’80s because they updated the [setting]. So it would be, you know, before World War 2 or something. It’ll be interesting to see what will happen with that.”
Also Read: “That’s Kind of Lame”: Stephen King Criticizes Stranger Things 4 Being Divided Into 2 Parts
Early on in 2020, the news of the IT prequel series at HBO Max with Andy Muschietti confirmed as the Pilot director and the Executive Producer too, whereas Wonder Woman‘s Jason Fuchs as the writer of all the episodes for the show, started to float. Welcome to Derry, the series’ title is expected to be set in the 1960s, adhering to IT’s 27-year hibernation cycle, and will reportedly be exploring the origin story of the evil clown. There haven’t been any further reports on the development of the show, in the ensuing months since word came out. King’s comments do indicate that the idea of the prequel is not a confirmed deal between Muschietti and HBO Max yet, but rather still in the works.
Many fans resonate with King’s reaction to the IT prequel series. The idea of overtly exploring the nuances of one of the greatest terrifying villains’ origin does risk losing the fearful charm that lies in its mystery. As we wait for a confirmation (or vice versa) of the potential series, we might as well rewatch the first two IT movies, currently streaming on HBO Max.
