Adult Losers Were An "Unusual Choice," Producer Of It: Chapter 2 Explains

The casting choices for It: Chapter 2 were explained by the producer of the movie.

The much-awaited It: Chapter 2 is finally in theatres and going by the reception, people are equally terrified by the second movie like they were with the first one. Most critics are calling it one of the best Stephen King adaptations on screen and considering the volume of materials adapted to screen from the genius brain of Stephen King; it is particularly high praise for the movie.

There were some critics who were baffled by the run time of the movie and also the lack of scare when compared to the first one. But there was no one in the audience, who complained about the cast of the movie, and when you think the whole cast was revamped from the first one to the second one due to ‘It’ only appearing every 27 years. The adult version of the 'Losers Club' was a tremendous hit with everyone and Bill Hader getting much of the plaudits for his performance in the movie.

Source: CinemaBlend

Bill and Jessica Chastain were the fans’ choice for playing the characters they are portraying in the movie but for the rest of the cast, the producer of the flick opted for “unusual choice.” The casting choices, coupled with the success of the first movie seemingly paid off after news arrived the film is set to open with north of $100 million in North America during its first weekend.

In an exclusive chat with the people over at Digital Spy, producer of the movie, Barbara Muschietti talked about casting the adult versions of losers and how they went about in their search for the right actors to do the characters in the first movie as well as the beloved source material justice.

Source: Variety

“I think, you know, a part of it was convincing our partners, the studio,” Barbara said. “That we wanted to cast people that were an unusual choice – although they were so obvious because they looked so much like the original Losers.”

“And that was 100% our number one goal,” she continued. “Apart, of course, from them being great actors. But we needed to have people that looked exactly like the kids.”

Source: 7News

The casting process is a daunting one to undertake, the people hired to play the character need to be perfect for the role they are portraying, one misstep and the whole thing will come out like Kit Harington in 'Pompeii'. So, the producer and the casting director of the movie were cautious about the people they were hiring for the role.

One person, though, was made to work hard for his casting in the movie; Isaiah Mustafa for the role of 'Mike Hanlon' was closely looked at according to Barbara. “So, you know, we put Isaiah through the wringer pretty much,” she said. “because we had him audition – I don't know how many times – six or seven times. He was on his way to the airport to get on a flight and get married when we called him and asked him if we could do more one round. He turned around, went to the casting office, did it, and then he got the part. So, yeah.”

Source: Hollywood Reporter

Lisa Mitchell probably wasn’t best pleased when her future husband was pulled away from their wedding to go audition for the movie again. Still, he got the part and was one of the breakout performers in the film so, a small price to pay for their collective future together.

Director Andy Muschietti was also on hand to speak about the casting of the movie, and in particular, Bill Skarsgard, who was shown little in It: Chapter 2 but his performance was terrifying nonetheless.

Watch: The trailer for It: Chapter 2 from Warner Bros.

“I wanted to magnify this character in the second part, and to be even more of a threat – a bigger threat,” Andy said. “Bill is restless, also. So he wanted to bring something new to the table. And the new things at the table basically have to do with Pennywise's motivations. He's more vindictive. Now it's personal. So everything bad that Pennywise was, now it's intensified.”

You can catch the amazing performances by the cast of the movie now in theatres world over, It: Chapter 2 is out now.