Jay Ryan is Set To Play Ben Hanscom in IT: CHAPTER 2

For those of you hoping that Chris Pratt would be cast as the adult version of Ben Hanscom in IT: Chapter 2, that's not who they ended up casting. According to Deadline, director Andy Muschietti has cast Jay Ryan in the role. The younger version of the character was fantastically played by actor Jeremy Ray Taylor in the first film.

I'm not really familiar with Ryan's work, but the New Zealand actor is on the eOne/Hulu rights-to-die drama series Mary Kills People. He also played the lead in The CW Beauty and the Beast series.

It was recently announced that Andy Bean (Here and Now, Power) would play Stanley and James Ransone (Sinister 2) would be playing an adult version of Eddie. They all join the previously cast Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, and Bill Hader, who will play Beverly, Bill, and Richie respectively. Bill Skarsgard will return as Pennywise.

IT: Chapter 2 will be set 27 years after the first film. As they've grown up, they've forgotten about what had happened. When bad things start to happen in Derry again and kids begin to go missing, Mike Hanlon, who stayed behind in Derry to keep watch over the town, calls up his old friends and reminds them of the promise they made to come back and stop it if it ever came back.

From previously interviews we learned that Chapter 2 will include more of the interdimensional turtle, which was teased in the first film a few times. It will also have a much darker tone to it, and it has been said that Mike Hanlon's character will be drastically changed, as he will be a junkie. You can read more about that here. The adult version of Mike has yet to be cast.

The sequel will also most likely explore Pennywise the Clown a little more. We've heard that the sequel may include elements from Pennywise's history in Derry such as the story behind The Black Spot and there was a deleted scene from the first film that was revealed that included Pennywise eating a Baby. That could be included in the sequel as well if they really do plan on giving us a history of the monster. Then there's Skarsgard, who hopes that it will explore the twisted mind of Pennywise.

IT: Chapter 2 will be released in theaters on September 6, 2019.