Stephen King's Pennywise Prequel Must Avoid It Chapter 2’s Biggest Mistake
As Stephen King’s It receives a prequel TV show, the creators of Welcome to Derry will need to avoid the biggest pitfall that led to the sequel It: Chapter 2’s humdrum reception. 2019'sIt: Chapter 2 was far from terrible. The sequel to 2017’s blockbuster horror hit It was featured a stellar turn from Bill Hader as Richie Tozier, and the movie was successful enough to prompt the creators to pursue a prequel series, the upcoming Welcome to Derry.
However, It: Chapter 2 did have some major issues. Perhaps the most pressing was that the sequel’s tone was inconsistent, resulting in broad comedic scenes arriving mere minutes after deeply disturbing, self-serious horror moments. This meant that It: Chapter 2 was never sure what sort of movie the sequel was supposed to be, something that will be a much bigger problem for Welcome to Derry if the prequel series repeats this issue.
Related: Why Stephen King’s It Prequel Series Is A Bad Idea
It: Chapter 2 failed to win over critics who praised 2017’s It because the sequel’s tone was way too bleak and grounded (evidenced by the opening murder of Adrian Mellon) and too comedic (the infamous “Angel of the Morning” sequence) all at once. Jack Nicholson’s role in The Shining's classic adaptation proved that a little black comedy could work in Stephen King movies, but the funny scenes of It: Chapter 2 were outright comedic while some of the horror scenes were jarringly dark and grimly realistic. Welcome to Derry, as a TV show, will have a longer runtime and thus more room to bounce between widely different tones — something the prequel series needs to avoid.
The balance between horror and comedy achieved by 2017’s It is not an easy one to nail, and the ending of the earlier 1990
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