Jessica Chastain Joins ‘It’ Sequel, Bill Skarsgård Returns (Obviously)

Last fall, “It” director Andy Muschietti didn’t take too much time basking the success of his smash horror hit. The filmmaker was already contemplating the sequel, which would see the gaggle of kids all the grown up, and still facing the terror of Pennywise. Casting all those roles will be a challenge, but there was one actress already on his mind for Beverly, played by Sophia Lillis.

“Jessi[ca Chastain] is an amazing actress and very good friend and I would love her to play Beverly… she loves the movie and it feels like the planets are aligned in that sense, but we still have to make that happen,” Muschietti said in September. Well, now he’s getting his wish.

Chastain is in negotiations to play Beverly. In case you forgot, the actress worked with Muschietti previously on “Mama,” which put the director on the map, and was also a pretty decently sized hit, earning $146 million worldwide from a slim $15 million budget. So it’s all coming full circle — sort of — for the filmmaker, who it looks like will reunite with the actress for “It: Chapter 2.” Meanwhile, Bill Skarsgård is officially back as Pennywise, because, obviously. (It would more of a shock if he wasn’t returning).

For Chastain, it marks another return to the horror genre following Guillermo del Toro‘s underrated gothic chiller “Crimson Peak.” The actress has “Woman Walks Ahead” and “X-Men: Dark Phoenix” headed to cinemas, and plenty of space in her calendar for the “It” followup. It would certainly be a high-wattage addition to the massive horror franchise.

“It: Chapter 2” opens on September 6, 2019. [Variety/THR]