Digitally de-aging actors is becoming more and more commonplace, especially as the technology continues to improve. Marvel used the technique quite well earlier this year while takingSamuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury back to the 90s inCaptain Marvel, and come the fall, we’ll get to seeMartin Scorsese’s extensive use of visual effects inThe Irishmanwhere hereportedlyde-ages cast members includingRobert De NiroandAl Pacinofor the first half of the movie. This latest case of de-aging, however, is a little different;It Chapter Twowill de-age its younger cast members.
Here’s what directorAndy Muschiettitold Total Film (viaSyfy.com):
“From the beginning, we knew that that would be part of the budget, the visual effects to address that,” the director said. “So we’re going to de-age the kids.”
There’s something about the idea of de-aging child actors in a movie that sounds absolutely ridiculous, but we are talking about an ensemble of teenagers. The firstItfilm was shot in the summer of 2016.It Chapter Twowent into production two years later. That’s a good deal of time for a young group of stars to inch closer to adulthood, so if Muschietti wanted to bring back his original cast, some sort of visual wizardry was going to be necessary.
That then begs the question, is it necessary? With a film likeThe Irishman, it’s tough to say before seeing the final product but in the case ofIt Chapter Two, given the nature of Pennywise’s attacks, it does seem as though it’ll benefit the full film. Pennywise returns to Derry, Maine every 27 years. One might think an encounter with Pennywise as a child would be impossible to forget, but that’s exactly what happens as the members of The Losers Club grow up and, in most cases, move away from Derry. While moviegoers might vividly remember the events of the 2017 film, havingIt Chapter Twoflash back to the past to “reopen events,” asJames McAvoydescribed, will further shine a spotlight on the incredible young ensemble and hopefully bolster their character journeys in the process.
If you’d like to hear more on this topic, check out today’s episode of Collider Movie Talk at the top of this article. The team also discussesAndy Serkisofficially signing onto directVenom 2and recaps theweekend box officewhereHobbs and Shawbecame the fifth largest global opening ever for Universal.
Tune in for Collider Movie Talk every day, Monday through Friday, at 3pm PT live on theCollider Video YouTube channel!
