Stephen King suggested a scene be included in ‘It: Chapter Two’

Warning: This post contains mild spoilers for “It: Chapter Two.”

“It: Chapter Two” hit theaters over the weekend and marks the latest screen adaptation of one of horror author Stephen King’s novels. And the writer of the 1986 book “It” had some suggestions this time around for the sequel after reading the script.

“I wanted him closer this time,” Andy Muschietti, the director of “It: Chapter Two,” said of King in an interview with Business Insider. “We started talking after he saw the first one [2017’s “It”] and having this dialogue. The relationship became tighter. I shared the script with him to see what his thoughts were. And he was very receptive to all of it. He just wanted to see some scenes that weren’t there.”

In King’s nearly 1,200-page book, Richie (who is played as an an adult by Bill Hader and a child by Finn Wolfhard) is chased by a giant Paul Bunyan statue, which is one of the manifestations of the evil, supernatural clown Pennywise.

This wasn’t originally in the movie’s script and is one of the scenes King asked to be included.

“I shared the script with him to see what his thoughts were,” Muschietti continued. “And he was very receptive to all of it. He just wanted to see some scenes that weren’t there. One of them was Paul Bunyan attacking Richie [ laughs]. But he requested it in a very respectful way and it wasn’t a mandate at all.”

That scene probably cost some extra money, but luckily for Muschietti and his team, the budget was roughly double what they were afforded on the first movie, he said.

King also makes a cameo in the movie as the owner of an antique shop who sells adult Bill (played by James McAvoy) an old bike.

Read Business Insider’s full interview with the “It: Chapter Two” director Andy Muschietti here.