Few horror movies have left as big a mark on modern pop culture as IT and its sequel, IT: Chapter Two. Together they turned Stephen King's massive novel into one of the biggest horror events in years, brought Pennywise the Dancing Clown back into the nightmares of an entire new generation, and somehow made a group of kids on bikes feel just as iconic as the monster chasing them.
But there is a lot going on behind the camera too, and some of it is just as strange as anything happening in Derry. Here are 10 cool and surprising facts about the making of both films.
1. The release dates hide a spooky bit of numerology
IT was released on September 8, 2017, and if you add up every digit in that date, it comes out to 27. IT: Chapter Two was released on September 6, 2019, and those digits also add up to 27. That number is not random either, since in the story Pennywise wakes up to feed every 27 years. Whether it was planned or just a wild coincidence, it fits the story perfectly.
2. Bill Skarsgård can actually move his eyes independently
Part of what makes Pennywise so unsettling is the way his eyes seem to drift in two different directions at once. That is not a visual effect. Bill Skarsgård can genuinely move each eye independently on his own, and he showed it off to crew members on set just to creep them out. When the director suggested adding that kind of effect digitally in post-production, Skarsgård told him it would not be necessary.
3. Skarsgård kept his distance from the kids, but not the adults
During filming of the first movie, Skarsgård deliberately avoided hanging out with his young co-stars so that their fear of Pennywise would feel real and unscripted on camera. He would comfort them right after each take, but otherwise kept things distant. For the sequel, working alongside the adult cast instead, he has said he actually had a great time and joked around with everyone on set.
4. The project spent years stuck in development hell
Getting IT onto the big screen was not simple. The project had been kicking around Hollywood since 2009, passing through several different creative visions before director Andy Muschietti eventually took over and shaped it into what audiences saw in 2017.
5. Stephen King personally asked for one specific scene
The bizarre Paul Bunyan statue sequence in Chapter Two comes straight from King's original novel, and King himself specifically asked the filmmakers to include it in the movie. Considering how memorable and strange that scene turned out to be, it is safe to say they delivered exactly what he wanted.
6. One actress plays two very different roles in Chapter Two
In a clever nod to the source material, the same actress plays both Eddie's wife and Eddie's mother in the sequel. It mirrors a small but pointed detail from the novel, where Eddie realizes that the woman he married reminds him an awful lot of his mother.
7. Bill Hader was cast because of a co-star's request
Finn Wolfhard, who played young Richie in the first film, was the one who pushed to have Bill Hader cast as the character's adult version. The two had never even met before that, but the pairing ended up becoming one of the most beloved parts of the sequel.
8. The director hid himself inside both movies
Andy Muschietti snuck cameo appearances into both films. In an extended scene from the first movie, he can be spotted in the background while Eddie goes to refill a prescription, and he shows up again in the very same pharmacy setting in the sequel.
9. The blood in that infamous bathroom scene was no small effort
The unforgettable scene where Beverly is drenched in blood inside her bathroom did not hold back on practical effects. It reportedly took thousands of gallons of fake blood to pull off.
10. IT became a genuine box office record breaker
When the first film hit theaters, it earned more than 700 million dollars worldwide, making it the highest grossing R-rated horror movie of all time. For a film about a killer clown living in the sewers, that is an incredible achievement.
Final thoughts
From hidden numerology in the release dates to an actor's genuinely unsettling party trick, there is a lot more going on behind IT and its sequel than most people realize. It is one of those rare horror franchises where the story behind the story is almost as fascinating as the nightmare fuel on screen.
Did any of these facts surprise you? Let us know which one you didn't already know.
