The director of the upcoming adaptation of Stephen King's IT says he wants to tackle the author's Pet Sematary for his next remake. The new IT, directed by Andrés Muschietti, is more of a reimagining of King's classic horror novel than a remake of the 1990 miniseries. IT will follow a group of kids in a cursed Maine town and their encounters with fear itself, which mostly manifests itself in the form of Pennywise the Clown (played by Bill Skarsgård in the new movie).
Pet Sematary, meanwhile, was adapted in 1989 and after proving a moderate box office success has gained something of a cult following over the years. Muschietti is still promoting IT ahead of its September release and could still helm the planned second part portraying the main characters' adult years, but he has pegged Pet Sematary as the next King adaptation on his wish list.
Speaking in a new interview with the Toronto Sun, Muschietti said that he really wants to do a fresh take on Pet Sematary. Indeed, he and his sister Barbara, who is credited as a producer on IT, are hoping that their King adaptation will be the first of several in the coming years.
“We’re huge fans of Pet Sematary. If we can get our hands on that and do the Pet Sematary we want to do, that will be something. One day, maybe."
The Muschietti siblings also own the film rights to The Jaunt, a short story published by King in 1981, which they intend to eventually make. Andres also told the Toronto Sun that he didn't have much trouble adapting the screenplay for IT, the novel for which runs well over 1,000 pages, as he and his sister are "true fans" of King's work.
If IT can deliver on its pre-release buzz and connect with a wide audience, it appears that the movie would only be the beginning of a long partnership between the Muschiettis and the work of King. The author was famously reluctant to publish the 1983 novel of Pet Sematary, which he described as a "terrible book" in terms of the way it "just spirals into darkness". If Muschietti is that enthusiastic about tackling such a dark, terrifying novel, it bodes well for IT's ability to grip audiences.
However, as The Dark Tower is proving, King's typically strong source material is not always a guarantee of a winner. The Dark Tower may top the box office in its first weekend, but it opened to abysmal reviews and is poised for a short run at No. 1. It's always been hard to execute King adaptations on the big screen effectively, but Muschietti's sheer passion for the author's work should inspire confidence that he can make the new IT a success.
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Source: Toronto Sun
