Stephen King's IT Movie Runtimes

CBR

The IT Duology's Runtime Could End Up Longer Than the Miniseries'

By Ananda Dillon

Published Aug 1, 2017

Combined with the expected second IT film, the new horror movie will be longer than the first miniseries adaptation.

Stephen King is having a real Hollywood resurgence this year. Not that the author's work hasn't been adapted for the screen numerous times. When it comes to Stephen King, the more is usually the merrier. So avid fans should be happy to hear that the upcoming adaptation of King's 1986 book IT will be quite merry, clocking in at a reported 135-minute running time.

For a little perspective, compare that run time to the 1990 TV miniseries version of IT, which clocks in at 192 minutes. That includes both parts of the movie that aired separately. Andy Muschietti's IT will also be separated into two parts, with part two taking place 30 years later. The kids featured in the first film will have grown up and must return to Derry, Maine to take on their foe Pennywise once again. If part two is equal in length to the first film, that's four and a half hours of total IT terror.

In many ways, Stephen King's verbose novels lend themselves well to longer film and TV adaptations, which is why it's somewhat upsetting to know that, in comparison, the other long-awaited King adaptation, The Dark Tower, will only have a run time of 95 minutes when it releases this Friday, Aug. 4. A disappointing fact, considering The Dark Tower will act as something of a sequel to King's books, with the long-awaited television series slated to act as a more faithful adaptation of the source material.

Interestingly, the adaptations of King's that do best at the box office are adapted from his shorter novellas, like The Green Mile and 1408. Maybe King just packs in too much plot for any one movie to handle. Fans will find out which Stephen King adaptation satisfies viewers the most soon enough.

IT releases on Sept. 8 and stars Bill Skarsgård, Finn Wolfhard, Jaeden Lieberher, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Jack Dylan Grazer, Chosen Jacobs, Wyatt Oleff, Nicholas Hamilton, Owen Teague and Logan Thompson.

(via A.V. Club)