When asked to name Stephen King's greatest book of all-time, there tend to be a few common answers among fans, such as his apocalyptic opus IT, King's massive novel about a shape-shifting monster who preys on children, and the group of friends tasked with putting an end to its ancient reign of terror.
While IT's default Pennywise the Dancing Clown form tends to get most of the attention, a large factor in the greatness of King's book are the heroes, otherwise known as the Losers Club. The Losers come together over the course of a single summer, amidst battles not only with IT but also a group of human bullies led by the monstrous Henry Bowers. One of the most memorable Losers is self-styled comedian Richie Tozier, who usually succeeds in making his friends laugh, but often talks himself into situations he can't get out of easily.
In the well-ed 1990 TV miniseries version of IT, Richie was played by a young Seth Green, years before the actor would find widespread acclaim in things like the Stranger Things' Finn Wolfhard. IT producer - and Andy's sister - Barbara Muschetti recently released a first look image of Wolfhard as Richie on her Instagram. Check it out below.
While Wolfhard's look as Richie is certainly quite different from that of Green back in 1990, one should keep in mind that the timeline of IT has been updated for Muschetti's remake. The original King novel - released in 1986 - set the childhood portion of the Losers' fight with IT from 1957-1958, with them returning for round 2 from 1984-1985. The ABC miniseries moved things forward to 1960 for the kids and 1990 for the adults. The new movie places the kids' struggle in the mid-80s, with the adult portion in the present day.
As many have pointed out, the casting of Wolfhard in IT feels like a logical move, as Stranger Things was also set in the '80s, and found itself constantly compared to IT. Still, if Muschetti sticks closely to the tone of the book - which he seems to be trying to do - one assumes IT will end up being quite a bit harsher all around than Stranger Things; which while hardly G-rated, was also far from the veritable bloodbath IT turned into at many points.
NEXT: Pennywise Prefers the Sewers in IT Image
Source: Barbara Muschetti
