Horror novelist Stephen King has seen the latest big screen adaptation of his 1986 book “It” and he likes it. The film’s producer, Seth Grahame-Smith, broke the news via a post on Instagram, which showed a picture of a message sent to Grahame-Smith through King’s author forums.

The news bodes well for the film’s distributor, New Line Cinema. Production company Lin Pictures recently announced the horror film will sport an R-rating, and that plans are already in place for a sequel. The film will release in 2017 after being in production for roughly eight years.

Production on “It” began back in 2009 when Warner Bros. tapped “The Invasion” screenplay writer David Kajganich to adapt the novel for the big screen. That version of the film fizzled out, and in 2012 it was announced that “True Detective” season one director Cary Fukunaga would be taking over directorial duties for the film, with Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg as producers.

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Warner Bros. moved the film to its New Line Cinema line in 2014. The film was subsequently broken into two parts, much like King’s novel, which is divided between the late ‘50s and mid ‘80s but largely follows the same cast of characters. The first film will focus on the traumatizing childhood experienced by the story’s ensemble cast in the ‘50s, while the second film will find largely the same characters living their adult lives, suddenly called back to their hometown when the eponymous monster resurfaces.

Fukunaga stepped down as director in 2015, citing creative differences with New Line Cinema. Andres Muschietti, director of “Mama,” was brought on later that year to direct the film, which would also see a complete rewrite. “Annabelle” writer Gary Dauberman would eventually end up taking that role, rewriting the previous script from the ground up.

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King’s approval of the film is likely a major relief for Grahame-Smith. The author has never shied away from calling out cinematic adaptations of his novels that he doesn’t like. King was famously critical of Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film adaptation, “The Shining,” which, at the time, he said was the only adaptation of one of his novels he could remember hating.

Debuting in theaters on September 8, “It” is a production of Lin Pictures directed by Andres Muschietti starring Bill Skarsgard, Jaeden Lieberher, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Wyatt Oleff, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer and Nicholas Hamilton.

(via ScreenRant)