New Line's remake - or is it a re-adaptation? - of Stephen King's IT encountered a stumbling block when director Cary Fukunaga exited the project back in May. His chair didn't sit vacant for long, however, as THR reports that Mama helmer Andy Muschietti has entered the final negotiations for the job.

The horror filmmaker is expected to enlist his Mama co-scribe - and sister - Barbara Muschietti to produce, along with the original production quartet of Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg. The hunt is now on for a new writer to punch up the existing script so it falls in line with Muschietti's vision.

IT was originally scheduled to begin production in early June. That was prior to Fukunaga's departure and a significant budget decrease, so it's uncertain when cameras will roll. THR's report does go to confirm that the film's two-part split is apparently still on the cards. Which is interesting, considering that Fukunaga's insistence on a dual-structure, and the studio's reluctance to renege, was cited as the reason for his departure.

And while it's also doubtful that Will Poulter will stay on as Pennywise, the malevolent evil that manifests as a sewer-dwelling clown, that plum role won't stay unattached for long. The chaptered take on King's iconic tome is back in business...

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