It: Chapter Two pays tribute to the horror classic A Nightmare on Elm Street II: Freddy's Revenge with an Easter egg most viewers missed. The Easter egg involves Bill Hader's character, Richie Tozier, and serves to highlight an important change filmmakers made between the book and the movie.
Since its release in 1985, A Nightmare on Elm Street II: Freddy's Revenge, has become a cult classic, mostly due to its homoerotic subtext. Many see the film's main character, Jesse Walsh (Mark Patton), as a closeted gay man struggling with his sexuality as he is tormented by Freddy. Although it is never explicitly stated, there are a number of details in the film that point to this being true, and it is this very idea that the costume designers for It: Chapter Two are nodding to with a clever Easter egg.
It: Chapter Two made an important change to the character of Richie Tozier, revealing partway through the film that he is gay and in love with his longtime friend and fellow Losers Club member, Eddie Kaspbrak. This change from Stephen King's book is an interesting one that helps to enrich not only Richie's character, but also the social dynamic of the Loser's Club for modern audiences. Nonetheless, before revealing Richie's sexuality in the movie, the subtle Easter egg hints at this fact: a shirt he is wearing is strikingly similar to one Jesse Walsh wears in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2.
IT: What The A Nightmare On Elm Street Easter Egg Means
Early in It: Chapter Two, Bill Hader wears a yellow shirt with a pattern of X's on it. Although not exactly the same, it's the same pattern that is on a shirt Mark Patton wears in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2. This Easter egg acts as a hint of Richie Tozier's sexuality, and pays homage to the homoerotic subtext of the Freddy Krueger film. What's more, it's symbolic of Richie being unable to hide who he is.
At Fantastic Fest in 2019, Mark Patton spoke to fans during the premiere of his documentary, Scream, Queen! My Nightmare On Elm Street, and was "thrilled" when he saw this Easter egg, especially since it highlights how far society has come in regards to gay rights since his movie came out. When A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 released in the 1980s, its sexual subtext was damaging to his career; the events surrounding this were chronicled and highlighted in the documentary. Patton's experience working on A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 and the aftermath of critical and audience reception to the film's queer subtext led him to quit acting.
Years later, that same message is being celebrated, which Mark Patton can appreciate as an out gay man who once had to stay closeted in order to have a chance at any kind of mainstream acting career as a traditional Hollywood "leading man". Even though some fans thought the Easter egg was a little too heavy-handed, it was a nice surprise for Patton, and a great way for It: Chapter 2 to pay tribute to A Nightmare on Elm Street II: Freddy's Revenge.