WHAT A BUNCH OF SH”IT”!
Article by Adam Mast
In a bit of movie news that’s almost as disappointing as Edgar Wright leaving ANT-MAN, it looks as if SIN NOMBRE/TRUE DETECTIVE helmer Cary Fukunaga has departed as director of a much anticipated big screen adaptation of Stephen King’s IT. This take on King’s celebrated novel was going to be split in to two films and buzz surrounding the project had been very positive.
This incredibly disappointing news comes hot on the heels of the eye rolling revelation that Fukunaga had just cast THE MAZE RUNNER co-star Will Poulter as the evil clown, Pennywise (for the record, I was hoping that it would be someone older and infinitely more intense–someone like Michael Shannon.)
Official word for Fukunaga’s potential departure has yet to be given but several online sources are reporting that the director was butting heads with the studio over where to shoot the picture. Some reports even suggest that WB/New Line Cinema became a little skittish over disappointing box-office returns for 20th Century Fox’s recent POLTERGEIST update. Is that to suggest that Fukunaga is leaving IT because WB/New Line Cinema fear that clowns aren’t scary anymore? Sounds like quite a stretch to me, but it is a funny business so you never can tell.
Whatever the case may be, I hope that this is just a little bump in the road and that Fukunaga will still be involved because everyone close to this project seems to feel like IT was on the right track. I’m still not sure that Will Poulter is right for Pennywise, but Fukunaga has proven himself to be quite a film-maker and I have no doubt that he knows what he’s doing. Here’s hoping he still gets to do IT!
*UPDATE: Word has it that THE BABADOOK’s director Jennifer Kent, is being circled as a possible replacement. More news to come as we here it.
