Things are starting to take shape as IT: Chapter 2 will begin filming in Toronto this July. Filmmaker Andy Muschietti is putting together a new crew for the film that takes place 27 years after the first film. First he brought on Oscar-winning The Shape of Water production designer Paul Austerberry, replacing Claude Paré (X-Men: Dark Phoenix). Now word has come out that Checco Varese has been chosen to be the cinematographer of Chapter 2, replacing The Handmaiden and Oldboy DP Chung-hoon Chung.



Varese's credits include the TV pilots of The Strain, True Blood, and the upcoming Locke & Key, as well as The 33, the Keanu Reeves sci-fi film Replicas, and the Amazon Jack Ryan TV series. So the guy certainly has experience.



Gary Dauberman, one of the writers on the first film, is currently working on the script. Jessica Chastain is set to play Beverly Marsh in the sequel, which is set to take occur 27 years after the first film but will contain flashbacks to the ’80s. Bill Skarsgård will be reprising the role of Pennywise. James McAvoy (Split, Glass, X-Men) and Bill Hader (Barry) are both in talks to join the film. McAvoy would play the role of Bill, who was played by Jaeden Lieberher in the first movie, while Hader portray Richie, which was played by Finn Wolfhard. The film is scheduled to be released in theaters on September 6, 2019.



Chapter 1 is based on Stephen King's classic novel and stars Jaeden Lieberher ( Midnight Special ) as Bill Denbrough, Finn Wolfhard ( Stranger Things ) as Richie Tozier, newcomer Sophia Lillis as Beverly Marsh, Jack Dylan Grazer ( Tales of Halloween ) as Stan Uris, Wyatt Oleff ( Guardians of the Galaxy ) as Eddie Kaspbrak, Chosen Jacobs ( Hawaii Five-0 ) as Mike Hanlon, Jeremy Ray Taylor ( 42 ) as Ben Hanscom, and Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise.



"The film is based on the novel by Stephen King, whose story recalls a promise made twenty-eight years ago that forces seven adults to reunite in Derry, Maine, where as teenagers they battled an evil creature that preyed on the city’s children. Unsure that their Losers Club had vanquished the creature all those years ago, the seven had vowed to return to Derry if IT should ever reappear. Now, children are being murdered again and their repressed memories of that summer return as they prepare to do battle with the monster lurking in Derry’s sewers once more."









