It has been rumored for some time that
Jessica Chastain would be involved in the
"It" sequel after director
Andy Muschietti and his sister Barbara, one of the film's producers, revealed in an interview for Variety that the Oscar-nominated actress would be their top choice to play adult Beverly. These rumors seemed even more plausible since Chastain has worked with Muschietti before, on the
Guillermo del Toro-produced horror film
"Mama".
Those rumors became reality today as new reports indicate that Chastain is now officially in negotiations with New Line to star in the sequel. Negotiations are in early stages at this point, and the script still isn't finished, but
"It: Chapter Two" is a top priority for the studio, following the film's record-breaking run in theaters.
"It: Chapter One" opened with $123.4 million in September, 2017 and finished its theatrical run with $700.3 million worldwide, the highest numbers ever for a horror film.
As the first part of
Stephen King's book focused on a group of children facing off against the murderous and otherworldly Pennywise the Clown, the second part will follow the last half of King's novel, which focuses on the characters as adult, returning to their hometown to finish off Pennywise once and for all. No other actors have been attached to the sequel. The original young cast could appear in flashbacks scenes.
"It: Chapter Two" will hit theaters on September 6, 2019.
Jessica Chastain is also set to star in
"X-Men: Dark Phoenix" and an adaptation of Ubisoft's online-only action role-playing game
"The Division". Other projects include the
Ingrid Bergman biopic
"Seducing Ingrid Bergman", the comic book adaptation
"Painkiller Jane" and the biopic
"George and Tammy" which focuses on country and western icons George Jones (
Josh Brolin) and Tammy Wynette.
