Stephen King’s IT
Directed by Andy Muschietti
Written by Chase Palmer, Cary Fukunaga, and Gary Dauberman
Starring Bill Skarsgård, Jaeden Lieberher, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Wyatt Oleff, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer, Nicholas Hamilton, Jackson Robert Scott
Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date: September 8, 2017

The first adaptation of Stephen King‘s novel It was a 1990 mini-series starring Tim Curry as the child-eating monster. The ambitious project from director Tommy Lee Wallace tried in vain to fit all 1,100 pages of King’s epic novel into two 2-hour blocks and the results were a mixed bag. The first half is nearly universally beloved thanks to some great child acting and Curry chewing the scenery and stealing nights of sleep as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. The second half focuses on the adults 27 years later returning to stop the evil again and it falters heavily from cheesy overacting and a universally “be-loathed” giant spider ending.

Coincidentally, it’s 27 year later, and Mama director Andy Muschietti took what worked back in 1990 and focused an entire film on it with Stephen King’s IT.

The Long Beach Comic Con (LBCC), held this year on September 2-3, recently wrapped up, and it was another solid show, and in its ninth year seemed to be the biggest one yet.

The LBCC is one of a growing list of smaller- to mid-size conventions that offers a more comics-based focus as opposed to the big boys like the San Diego and NY Comic-Cons, where movie and TV programming and exhibitors almost overwhelm all else. Here, a variety of big names and new voices mingled in the sizable Artist’s Alley, and indie publishers were in abundance. Comic creators were well represented with names such as Howard Chaykin, Pia Guerra, Dave Gibbons, and Gene Ha, among many others. In terms of celebrity guests, this year’s LBCC managed to book both William Shatner and Sherilyn Fenn, along with a number of fan-favorite animation voice actors.

Having only seen bits and pieces of the original IT TV miniseries, I didn’t know what to expect from the new Stephen King’s IT from director Andy Muschietti. But after catching a screening of new film, I can understand why everyone is so afraid of clowns. That being said, there are a few flaws, but overall, I had a terrifyingly good time. The reaction has been so good that Warner Bros. feels confident enough to move forward with a sequel.

Following the success of Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds teased the idea of getting an X-Force film off the ground. The film would follow a black-ops team of mutants, led by the time-traveling Cable, that would take a more proactive stance against threats to mutantkind. Recently, it was confirmed that Joe Carnahan (Smokin’ Aces) would pen the script. But that still left the film without a director.

Now there’s word that Fox has tapped Drew Goddard, writer of films like Cloverfield and Deadpool 2, to write and direct X-Force. More on the story below.

Thor films have always been colorful. Unlike some of his earthly counterparts, Asgard has been heavy on the fantasy aspect by draping the world in imaginative and fantastical designs.

But with the film just another two months away from release, Marvel is stepping up the marketing game by releasing a set of new Thor: Ragnarok character posters. However, these character posters have a bit more of an artistic pop to them than the generic backgrounds we are used to seeing. Check them all out below.