Director Cary Fukunaga Exits 'It'
Director Cary Fukunaga of "True Detective" and "Jane Eyre" has left the big-screen adaptation of Stephen King's "It." He exited the project over the weekend, according to reports. He signed on for the project early on, in 2012, and has in fact already written the screenplay of the movie, together with Chase Palmer.
The reason behind his departure is apparently a major one. His original screenplay for the popular Stephen King novel allowed for better character and story development as his suggestion was to break the book into two films, and not just one, Variety reported. "It" the novel is considered a "massive" book, rich in details that King was known for.
New Line Cinema, the studio backing the film, apparently did not want to make two films and insisted that only one film should be made, mainly due to budgetary constraints. Fukunaga tried to fight for his concept but both he and the studio "could not agree on a budget," forcing him to leave the project. Production was scheduled to start this summer, but because of this recent development, it has been halted.
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Casting has been on the way and so far, reports are pointing to Will Poulter to play the evil clown Pennywise, who is the "It" who haunts the fictional town of Derry and its residents.
The story follows a bunch of kids who confront an evil monster who terrorizes their town, up until they are all grown up as adults. In the end, they end up battling their own personal demons in the process. An earlier attempt was made in 1991 to adapt the novel into a TV series, which according to reports failed miserably in telling the story properly. According to Cinema Blend, "the storytelling felt rushed as if there's too much in King's book to ever properly fit on the screen."
New Line has yet to make any announcements regarding this project since news of Fukunaga's departure. Some reports are noting that the studio may be better off delaying the project until they find a director willing to take on such an ambitious project.
