'It: Chapter 2' Will Be Different from Original in Two Big Ways, Says Actor
'It' star James Ransone talks to Inverse about playing a more mature Eddie.
If you’re wondering how It: Chapter Two will top the 2017 film, one of the actors has said it will be different than the first in two thought-provoking ways.
James Ransone, who plays a grown-up Eddie Kaspbrak in It: Chapter Two, says the sequel will be more adventurous and scary than It: Chapter One, which was one of last year’s creepiest and most-watched horror movies.
“All the things that you liked about the first, you’ll like about the second,” Ransone tells Inverse. “I saw a shot last night and I thought, ‘That’s one of the coolest shots in a movie that I’ve seen in the last 10 years.’”
Chapter Two takes place 27 years after the events of 1989, depicted in the first film, so each of the characters will be played by an older actor. Ransone says taking up the role of an adult version of a character was made easier because fans have already bonded with the younger version, memorably played by Jack Dylan Grazer in It: Chapter One.
“There’s something about those kids and that book that make it so beloved,” Ransone says. “People love those kids in those roles so much, that my work was almost done by the time I finished watching the first one.”
Jack Dylan Grazer played Eddie Kaspbrak in the first 'It'.
Ransone is effusive in his praise for Grazer’s performance, saying he did his best to emulate an adult version of the younger Eddie Kaspbrak’s personality in the upcoming sequel. He also explained how producers of the sequel arranged a “speed-dating” meet and greet for the younger and older casts to me, which Entertainment Weekly reported on in July.
“The kids that did the first movie were so well-loved, that I literally didn’t think about anything other than doing my best impression or interpretation of Jack Dylan Grazer,” Ransone said. “The work I had to do on this, it’s not like ‘What would Eddie do?’ It’s more of ‘How would Jack Dylan Grazer do this?’”
In the It novel, an adult Eddie dies in the final confrontation with the entity after getting his arm bitten off — and the rest of the Losers’ Club leave his body in the sewer. When asked if Eddie might suffer through a similarly tragic end, he deflecting, joking, “Nah man, they’ll cut my arm off and throw me in a sewer if I say anything.”
Predictably, Warner Bros. is being secretive about It: Chapter Two spoilers.
“We did a whole thing with Entertainment Weekly where the interviewer was standing with me and a publicist,” Ransone explained. “He asked me, ‘Is Eddie still a limo driver?’ So I ask, ‘Can I answer that?’ The answer was, ‘No.’ They want to control this a lot, and to their credit, I understand why.”
James Ransone as astronaut Nick Fletcher in 'The First'.
Ransone — who also plays an astronaut heading to Mars on Hulu’s The First — could divulge one secret though: Even as an adult, Eddie’s personality hasn’t changed all that much. “Is Eddie still a hypochondriac? 100 percent!”
At the very least, assume that adult Eddie will still expect the worst. In the terrifying world of It, that’s definitely a good thing.
It: Chapter Two is scheduled for release in theaters on September 6, 2019.
