SPOILERS: 5 Shocking (And Terrifying) Details You Need To Know About Cary Fukunaga's Scrapped IT Screenplay
IT has been a box office smash but Cary Fukunaga's (True Detective) was once working on a version which would have been vastly different. Here's all the details we know from the leaked screenplay...
Before Andy Muschietti signed on to direct IT, a very different iteration of the movie existed. Cary Fukunaga, Chase Palmer, and Gary Dauberman are the credited writers on the movie which arrived in theaters this month but the latter two were part of the project at a very different stage. That would have seen Fukunaga direct and Will Poulter play the demonic clown. So, just how different was it?
Very. We've taken a look through the movie's original screenplay and picked out the major differences between that and the IT which ended up in theaters. While there are some similarities, it's ultimately a very different movie and arguably one which it's hard to imagine being anywhere near as successful.
It was, however, a very unique take on the Stephen King property and would have made fans of the Stephen King novel both very happy and angry in different ways. From new roles for the kids to Pennywise's origin story and flashbacks to the past, this is your guide to what IT could have been.
5. It Would Have Featured An Origin Story For Pennywise
When her mother steps in to try and save her, he would have easily overpowered her and given the woman a choice; stay and watch her entire family die or leave and sacrifice her daughter's life. That same sort of offer was incorporated into the version of IT released this month when Pennywise got his hands on Bill in the final act so we don't know how much his origin story has changed as this version of the movie featured a totally different sort of conclusion. Skarsgard has, however, said that he wasn't wearing any clown makeup and that there were hints about IT being thousands of years old.
4. It Still Wouldn't Have Featured THAT Scene
Bev's relationship with her father is also quite different as it's not until their final encounter that he tries to rape her; the hints that he's been abusing her for some time are completely gone and the movie loses one of its best scares when Pennywise doesn't show to kidnap her up after she's killed him. While you have to give credit to Fukunaga for finding a way to put this in there, it comes off as clunky and awkward and was better off being left out.
3. Flashbacks Would Have Shown Pennywise's Murderous Past
IT may have teased Pennywise's past in Derry through some photographs and old paintings but we never got to see what he'd been up to in the years prior to torturing The Losers Club. In a flashback featured in this screenplay, we jump back to the 1800s and see a lumberjack enter a bar where he proceeds to brutally slaughter a group of men playing cards. No one else in there seems to pay any attention to what's happening and we learn that it's Pennywise playing the piano and controlling his actions in a classic horror reveal.
Another takes us into the recent past where the monster led a group of KKK members to destroy an all-black speakeasy and murder its inhabitants. This version of IT has clearly been using the townspeople to cause death and destruction for a long, long time but beyond making for some scary moments, none of these scenes would have really added a whole lot to the movie.
2. A Different Conclusion And Pennywise's True Form
The 2017 version of IT delivered a satisfying climax as the kids made Pennywise realise they were no longer afraid of him and used that fear against him. However, things are seriously weird in Fukunaga's draft. Carrying some heavy duty weaponry into the sewer like a crossbow and chainsaw, the Losers travel through an upside-down waterfall and see what appears to be IT's true form as he appears as a monstrous Starfish type creature with tentacles.
There are also spiders who consume the bullies, a sign perhaps that the director was planning on going down that route in the sequel (in the novel, Pennywise appears as a gigantic spider as that's the only form they're able to process seeing). This time, the kids use force to take Pennywise down and do so with M-80s and he ends up deflating like a popped balloon. Sounds kind of crappy, right?
1. Some Seriously F***ed Up Parents
The police take a much more active role in proceedings too. While they laugh off the kids' claims about a demonic entity being responsible for all those missing kids, they do at least attempt to figure out what's going on. Ultimately, though, they frame a one-legged World War II veteran for the killings, a sign that Fukunaga was looking to root things in reality and have the adults provide an explanation for what happened rather than being oblivious thanks to Pennywise's manipulations.
What do you guys think of these details from the original IT screenplay? Would you have preferred seeing this version of the movie? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below.