I’m really glad that I didn’t have to write up the news about Cary Fukunaga’s adaptation of It getting cancelled. It would have been an insufferably morose piece of reporting. Instead, I have my good friend Travis Newton to thank for bringing this bit of news to my attention, via Bloody Disgusting: It might still be headed towards movie screens.
BD reports that the film is shifting homes from New Line to parent company Warner Bros (this might actually be a plus), the shooting will take place in New York, and the film is still planned to get rolling by the end of this year. The bad news is that Fukunaga is definitely off the project as WB is scouting for new directors. I’ll admit that Fukunaga’s departure is a big drain on my enthusiasm for this project, but BD reports that they will be using the existing scripts that Fukunaga worked on.
I had some worries about Fukunaga considering all the other projects he was attaching himself to, and it looks like some serious differences must have reared their heads for him to leave the project so close to the beginning of shooting.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: It has the potential to be a landmark turning point for the horror genre. Treating It like an A-list tentpole could mean a big shift towards the kind of horror movies we get in the coming years. Crimson Peak looks like the forerunner of such a change, but something with name recognition and cultural resonance like It would be the real harbinger of a new golden age of big budget horror.
I can’t really drum up a director right now who could fill Fukunaga’s shoes, but that’s why we have comments sections and forums. Give me some hope, Chewers. I need some good replacement names, because right now I am at a loss for anyone who would want to jump into this and could bring the same kind of dread and dirtiness that Fukunaga has proved so capable of delivering.
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