Despite some initial hiccups, production of director Andy Muschietti’s feature film adaptation of Stephen King’s classic horror novel It is now running along smoothly. The film began principal photography a little over a month ago (at the time of writing this) - and although there hasn’t been a ton of reports from the set, there have been a few images so far; all of which hint at maintaining the original story’s deeply creepy nature.

Ever since director Cary Fukunaga left the production due to creative differences with the studio, many fans have felt concerned over exactly what sort of state the famed tale of child killing clown Pennywise was in. Andy Muschietti has spoken about his vision for the film and we’ve caught a glimpse of Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) that is enough to make audiences skin crawl. So, for the most part, what we’ve seen thus far should provide a certain level of comfort for fans.

But of course, Muschietti is well aware of the expectation that hangs over It and seems very calculated about exactly what he’ll share with the public. The most recent offering comes via the director’s Instagram account after he posted some storyboard and on set images that don’t give away much, but stoke anticipation levels to greater heights than before. Check out the images below.

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Among the new images is one of the wrought iron gate with the number 29 at its center. Fans of It will be delighted to recognize this as 29 Neibolt, the location where one of the story’s characters encounters the demonic entity in the form of a homeless man addled with leprosy, then later as a werewolf. Number 29 Neibolt did not appear at all in ABC’s 1990 TV mini-series adaptation of It, so purists will be happy to see it included in Muschietti’s adaptation. As for the storyboards, they also illustrate the organizing of the children to take on what they understand to be a menacing and horrific force. The images are very minimal in scope, but do provide valuable insight into Muschietti’s attention to some very creepy details.

The instant success of Netflix series Stranger Things has in some ways also contributed to the potential success of It. Audiences eagerly engaged with Stranger Things’ tale of a small band of children working to fight against an evil much larger than themselves. In that sense – not to mention that It will star Stranger Things’ Mike (Finn Wolfhard) – It has plenty to offer. Nostalgia as well as childhood fears seem to go hand in hand and as It has already proven itself to be a rich and dense horror story, the likelihood of the film finding success seems to increase almost daily.

Given that It will be released in two volumes however, there’s a great deal more that could potentially go wrong than if it were simply scaled down to one film. But of course, it’s often true that the greater the risk, the greater the reward. If Muschietti’s vision manages to stay true to the original story (which it already appears it’s doing), then the end results could very well be terrifying in the best way possible.

NEXT: It Producer Talks Stranger Things Comparisons

It will be released in U.S. theaters on September 8th, 2017

Source: Andy Muschietti