ABOVE: Pennywise, screenshot via YouTube.
“It Chapter Two” will include a scene of a homophobic hate crime, based on a real life hate crime, that was included in Stephen King’s novel.
In the scene, a young man named Adrian (Xavier Dola) is attacked by a group of homophobic men while Adrian’s boyfriend watches helplessly. Adrian is pushed over a bridge and survives but is killed by Pennywise. The scene was not included in the 1990 miniseries.
Director Andy Muschietti explained to Entertainment Weekly that the scene was inspired by the real-life murder of Charlie Howard, who survived a beating but later drowned in three feet of water in the canal. Howard was suspected to be asthmatic which contributed to his death. Adrian will be portrayed as asthmatic in the film.
“It’s one of the things that really caused a deep impact on Stephen King when he was writing It,” Muschietti told Entertainment Weekly. “So, he decided to include it. Of course, the names are changed, but the beating happened almost exactly like it’s described in the book, and Charlie died in three feet of water in the canal.”
In the sequel, the members of the Losers’ Club are grown up and have drifted apart. They return to Derry where they are once again tormented by the evil clown, Pennywise.
“It Chapter Two” hits theaters on Sept. 6.
