‘IT: Chapter Two’ Reportedly Casts ‘The Wire’s James Ransone as Adult Eddie
Although not 100 percent confirmed as of yet, IT: Chapter Two may have just pulled off another bit of pitch-perfect casting — so good that I’m mad that I didn’t think of it when putting together this fantasy-casting list for the sequel. James Ransone, best known for his roles in The Wire (Season 2, specifically) and Tangerine, has reportedly signed on to play the part of young Eddie Kaspbrak in the highly-anticipated follow-up to last year’s horror hit.
The news comes from Ransone’s own Twitter account, which is protected, but the folks at Consequence of Sound posted a screenshot (apparently someone at CoS follows Ransone). In the tweet, which is accompanied by a pic of Jack Dylan Grazer in IT, Ransone says, “Well, it’s official. I will have these very big small shoes to fill. Keep it to yourselves...” That last bit was clearly never going to happen — not with casting news like this.
Warner Bros. hasn’t officially confirmed the news, but Ransone would be joining a pretty fantastic cast that includes Jessica Chastain as the grown-up Beverly Marsh, Bill Hader as Richie Tozier, and James McAvoy as Bill Denbrough. The studio has yet to cast the roles of Stanley Uris, Ben Hanscom, and Mike Hanlon.
IT director Andres Muschietti is returning to helm the sequel from a script by returning screenwriter Gary Dauberman. The story will pick up over two decades after the events of the first film, as a tragedy forces the grown-up Losers Club to fulfill their promise to return to their hometown and confront the eponymous evil entity once more. Bill Skarsgard will reprise his role as Pennywise the Dancing Clown (aka IT), with the original younger stars also returning for flashback sequences.
IT: Chapter Two is set for a September 6, 2019 release.