There's no doubt that Stephen King's classic novel IT is one of the scariest stories of all time, and thus it was inevitable that Hollywood would try to adapt it into a movie.
Set in the fictional town of Derry in (where else?) Maine, IT tells the story of a monstrous shapeshifting boogeyman who most commonly takes the form of a sadistic clown, who returns to prey upon children every 23 years. In 1958, a band of six outcast children called 'The Losers Club' band together to fight the monster, only to be forced to return to their hometown as adults in 1985 when the grisly murders begin again.
Check out the trailer for IT Chapter Two in the video below:The first instalment of the movie adaptation took a few liberties with the book's plot, including moving the childhood sections to the more recent past of 1989, but it was well-received by critics and audiences alike.
However, it ended with the Losers defeating Pennywise the clown, before making a pact to fight it again if the creature somehow survived. Chapter Two will arrive this September, and the director has now confirmed that the runtime will be at total. 2 hours 45 minutes long.
Speaking to Digital Spy, director Andy Muschietti stated: "when you have the movie finally edited and it's 4 hours long, you realise that some of the events and some of the beats can be easily lifted but the essence of the story remains intact. You cannot deliver a 4-hour movie because people will start to feel uncomfortable no matter what they see."
He added: "But we ended up having a movie that is 2 hours and 45 minutes, and the pacing is very good. Nobody who's seen the movie has had any complaint."
Meanwhile, producer Barbara Muschietti added: "We will put out a director's cut because this time it definitely merits it. We have some amazing scenes that didn't make it into the movie."
IT: Chapter Two comes out in cinemas on September 6, and stars James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader, Andy Bean, James Ransone, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, and Bill Skarsgård.