IT: CHAPTER 2 Will Use The Interdimensional Turtle More To Help The Losers Club
For those of you who have read Stephen King's IT, you probably noticed a couple of brief references to the turtle in the movie. There was one where Bill is lured into Goergie's room and there he finds a turtle made out of LEGO bricks. The other reference is when the Losers Club are swimming in the quarry and one of them mentions that there is a turtle in the water.
If you haven't read the book, the presence of a turtle probably meant nothing to you. But in the book, the turtle is an interdimensional being that guides the Losers Club and influences them. According to director Andy Muschietti the turtle is going to be utilized a bit more in the sequel.
While talking to SyFy Wire, Muschietti explained his plans for including that character in the sequel, saying:
“The moment you introduce the element of IT, which is an interdimensional evil entity, the presence of the turtle comes with it, as a counterbalance. It doesn’t seem to play a big role, but the turtle is there. Like all mythologies, there’s a god of good and a god of evil. I didn’t want to use it as a fantastic character, but it’s hinted, every time the kids are in danger or something, I wanted to hint at the presence of the turtle…
In the book, they somehow address the turtle and say ‘the turtle couldn’t help us.’ But I think in the second part, the turtle will try to help them. In the second movie, the turtle left a few clues to their childhood that they don’t remember. They have to retrieve those memories from the summer of 1989, and that’s how we jump back to 1989. The keys to defeating to Pennywise are left in the past, and as adults, they don’t remember.”
I love that he plans on using the turtle more. Even though the movie alluded to the turtle a couple of times in the first movie, I didn't know if it would go beyond that. I just thought maybe it was just a little Easter egg thrown in for the fans of the book. But nope, he plans on utilizing the turtle, which is great!
It will be interesting to see how exactly he uses the turtle in the sequel to move the story forward and unlock the memories of the Losers Club reminding them of things that they forgot as they got older.
The director previously talked about the film saying that it will have a much darker tone and he revealed a pretty big change for the character Mike Hanlon, which you can read about here.
A lot of people say that the plotlines of the adult version's of the Losers Club characters aren't as interesting as the kids, but I have to disagree. I think they are equally as interesting and I'm excited to see how Muschietti plays with the adult versions of the characters in the sequel.
What do you think about the turtle playing a bigger role in IT Chapter 2? Do you think it will go over the heads of people that haven't read the book?