The two-part movie adaptation of Stephen King‘s It has found itself a new director.

The adaptation was being developed by Cary Fukunaga, the director of season one of HBO’s True Detective, for multiple years, and fans of It and the director’s work were all pretty excited. Then it all went to Hollywood Hell a couple of months back—because why should we get things that we want—when we found out that Fukunaga had reached his breaking point and departed the project after clashing swords with New Line Cinema, who had been passed the project from big sister studio Warner Brothers, over demands that the budget be cut.

At the time It was delayed indefinitely, and because of the Poltergeist remake‘s poor performance it was unclear if the movie would happen at all. With the hiring of a new director, it appears the plan is to still make this thing happen. So who did New Line choose to replace Fukunaga as the director of this movie based on King’s massive story about a group of kids (and eventual adults) dealing with fear incarnate?

Mama director Andy Muschietti. It’s being reported that Muschietti is currently in negotiations to take over the job from Fukunaga, and not only is the adaptation not in jeopardy of no longer being made, but it’s still a priority for New Line and producers Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Seth Grahame-Smith, and David Katzenberg.

Muschietti made Mama for only $15 million, based on his own short film of the same name, and it went on to make almost $150 million worldwide at the box office. Probably a significant reason for his being chosen after Fukunaga refused to budge on his vision and what it would cost to bring it to life. Mama is the director’s only notable credit thus far. He was also attached to direct an adaptation of the classic video game Shadow of the Colossus, but it’s unclear where exactly that project stand.

In addition to the new director, apparently New Line is also seeking a new writer to pen a script fitting to Muschietti’s vision and style.

There’s also a question of who will star as Pennywise the Clown. It’s still possible that Will Poulter, who was cast in the role back in May, will keep the job, but it could also change as he’s not officially attached anymore.

[Source: Heat Vision]