Based on the adult-focused parts of Stephen King’s iconic novel, “It Chapter Two” takes place 27 years after the first film. The Losers Club, now adults who have gone their separate ways, reluctantly reunite in Derry to fulfill the blood oath they made to each other and finish off the evil Pennywise once and for all. Director/writer pair Andy Muschietti and Gary Dauberman return, with James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone and Andy Bean playing the older versions of the Losers Club members.

With this being the end of the epic story and all that, you might wonder what could be the purpose of a mid- or post-credits scene on “It Chapter Two.” There’s no reason to believe that a third “It” movie would ever be made, but many of the works of Stephen King are part of a shared universe, “It” among them. What better place to launch like a Stephen King Cinematic Universe than with the biggest adaptation of his books that there’s ever been?

Not all post-credits scenes exist to tease future movies, also. Sometimes filmmakers include them just for fun. As was the case with “Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again,” for example.

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Unfortunately for fans hoping for any extra content after the credits have stopped rolling, “It Chapter Two” has no post-credits or mid-credits scene.

Once the credits start rolling, the movie is over with no extra content remaining. While we do always encourage moviegoers to hang around for the credits on any movie in appreciation for the work of the hundreds or thousands of people who helped bring the movie you just watched to life, you won’t risk missing anything by heading to the bathroom or just leaving if you have to.

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For actor James Ransone, getting to play adult Eddie Kaspbrak in “It: Chapter Two” was like “winning the Powerball.” He knew there were many actors out there who could play the older version of the kid who could spew out words faster than the speed of light, but now, it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing the part.

“I didn’t watch the first movie when it came out, not for any other reason than I kind of live under a rock — I haven’t turned on my TV in five years — so my brother saw the movie and told me, ‘Hey man, there’s this kid that looks a lot like you, it’s really weird,'” Ransone told TheWrap. “And I got some weird feeling that [the studio was] going to call me asking about it, because I knew they were going to start casting.”

Director Andy Muschietti went to bat for Ransone, who initially auditioned for a part in the first movie (he wouldn’t disclose which part, exactly). Kaspbrak is one of the members of The Losers Club and is known to be a germaphobe who is often reluctant to do the adventurous stuff the other kids yearn for. Ransone knew he had some big shoes to fill by playing the adult version of Eddie.

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“All I did to prepare was kind of study Jack Dylan Grazer’s performance, and I thought from the first second he was on the screen that it sounds like he’s shooting a machine gun out of his mouth and I just thought, ‘Oh my God, this is going to be really difficult,'” Ransone explained. “We spent a lot of time together and all I tried to do was just get my lines out as fast as possible. And then there are these certain little idiosyncrasies that he would do that Andy was really attune to that I didn’t pick up on, so Andy would have me insert certain gestural things that Jack did, and that was really cool.”

“It: Chapter Two” is full of dark scenes where the adult versions of the Losers Club have to confront their past dealing with It, as well as coming face-to-face with their fears all over again. For Ransone, the scariest moment playing Eddie came during the scene  when he goes into the basement of Derry’s pharmacy to find his mother tied up, when a monster starts approaching them.

“We shot that in a real pharmacy in Port Hope, Canada, that was a real pharmacy so all of the bottles that you see at the back of the wall that you see are all real,” he explained. “And so there was like weird stuff, and I kept thinking, this s— is like an environmental disaster waiting to happen. There is one exit down there, and there were 4o to 50 people shooting down there, and they were like, ‘just wrestle with this giant, six-foot monster.’ That was a tricky scene to shoot because I kept thinking, ‘If we do this right, we might blow up the entire block.’ That building was definitely not up to fire code.”

The entire cast, which included Bill Hader, Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy, dealt with exhausting scenes (Chastain’s character Beverly Marsh gets enveloped by gallons and gallons of blood, for example), so the actors needed to find a way to decompress.

“Honestly, me and Isaiah Mustafa and Bill, we just dicked around the whole time,” Ransone said. “We joked around, and we liked the same dumb YouTube videos, we are into the same thing, we would just tell jokes for hours and hours and it kept it loose and lively.” The levity on set was essential to get through long, touch sequences. One of the hardest scenes to shoot involved staring into a strobe light that flashed nonstop for weeks on end. “We all kind of lost our minds a little bit. ‘Apocalypse Now’ style,” Ransone said. “I’d come out and be like, is it 2 a.m. or 2 p.m.?”

However, Ransone says the rule of thumb for him as an actor is to never complain. “I have to pretend to be scared of this clown for money, and it’s so easy. But it does turn into this weird psychological torture after two weeks… because of the tedium of it because it happens over and over again — that’s where it gets tricky to manage.”

This is where we get into the heavy spoiler-y stuff, so seriously, stop reading if you don’t want to have the ending spoiled for you. 

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And tricky it got at the end of the movie, where Ransone’s Eddie meets his end. His death in the movie is different from what happened in Stephen King’s book, but Ransone is happy with the way his character’s life ended.

“We filmed that in so many different ways, and there were so many options that weren’t even scripted,” Ransone said. “I think it was Bill’s idea for my character to tell joke and the rest of the Losers to walk away and then they come back and I’m dead. I think it’s such a good way to do it, although as an actor, I was like, ‘You took the death scene away from me!’ But if you had seen my dying like that, it would have been a standard trope — everyone has seen that a million times. There was part of me that felt jealous that performatively, that was taken away for me. But I think it works better for the movie this way.”

The star caliber on this movie was out of this world — as mentioned before, the cast consisted of Chastain, McAvoy, Hader, Bill Skarsgard and child actors Finn Wolfhard, Jaeden Lieberher and Wyatt Oleff. And the legend himself, Stephen King, came to set to see his masterpiece being adapted into film.

“I met Stephen on set, and that’s just so awesome when you meet people like that, they are always pretty cool. There are always the people that are in the middle that aren’t legendary like that, that are such pains in the ass. He was super open, super sweet — I know he watched me do the scene with Henry Bowers in the bathroom.”

“It: Chapter Two” hit theaters on Friday and grossed $91 million domestically its opening weekend.

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“Chapter Two’s” Thursday total however fell short of the 2017 “It” film, which brought in $13.5 million in its Thursday previews. That was then a record for both a horror film and a September release.

The initial projections for “It: Chapter Two” likewise point to a lower opening weekend than the first film. Independent trackers are looking in the range of $100-110 million for “Chapter Two,” while Warner Bros. is projecting a more conservative $85-90 million for the New Line film. The original opened to a massive $123 million, leading it to a gross of $700 million worldwide. The first film’s success came as a surprise for box office trackers, and it ultimately placed in the top 10 highest grossing films of that year.

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If “It: Chapter Two” does manage to crack the $100 million mark in its opening weekend, it would be the first non-Disney release of 2019 to do so. The exception is “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” which opened over a long 4th of July weekend rather than a traditional three-day weekend.

“It: Chapter Two” is also performing less well with critics, currently landing a still fresh but just 67% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The new film is the continuation of the first movie and now finds the Losers Club all grown up, but returning to Derry to face their demons in the form of Pennywise the Clown (Bill Skarsgard) all over again.

James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain and Bill Hader star in the film, with the original child cast led by Jaeden Martell and Finn Wolfhard returning in flashback scenes. The “It” director/writer duo of Andy Muschietti and Gary Dauberman return with producers Barbara Muschietti, Dan Lin and Roy Lee.

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This summer wasn’t a very good one for Warner Bros. Their tentpole blockbuster “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” disappointed in June, and the studio suffered two big August flops with “The Kitchen” and “Blinded by the Light.” But now it is hoping for a big, R-rated autumn starting with “It: Chapter Two.”

When it was released in 2017, “It” caught box office analysts by surprise, earning a September record $123 million opening and grossing $700 million worldwide against a budget of just $30 million. The film’s marketing was a masterclass in building audience hype, slowly revealing the new look of Pennywise the Dancing Clown and offering spoonfuls of how disturbing he would be. Strong critics reviews and rave word of mouth on opening weekend secured its spot as one of the top 10 highest grossing films of the year.

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But can “Chapter Two” match that surprise performance? Right now, trackers are saying the sequel will perform very well but will fall short of its predecessor with an opening of $100-110 million against a much larger $70 million budget. Warner Bros. is being more conservative, projecting $85-90 million from 4,200 screens. Critics’ consensus is that the first “It” is a better film, but reviews are still generally positive at 73% on Rotten Tomatoes.

If “It: Chapter Two” hits tracker projections, it will do something that only Disney has been able to do so far in 2019: earn a $100 million opening weekend. Sony’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home” would have been the first non-Disney film to reach that mark, but Sony chose to open the film on a Tuesday to take advantage of the July 4 holiday.

With a $185 million 6-day opening and a $385 million domestic run, that was the right move for “Far From Home.” But it still means that only one studio has hit that major $100 million weekend benchmark. If “It” fans are as pleased with the scares of “Chapter Two” as they were with the first film, this movie should become only the second horror film ever to hit that mark.

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“It: Chapter Two” covers the second half of Stephen King’s novel. Set 27 years after the events of the first film, the Losers Club is all grown up and have gone their separate ways. But when Pennywise (Bill Skarsgard) returns from the sewers of Derry to feed on its inhabitants, Mike Hanlon (Isaiah Mustafa) calls on the Losers to return to their childhood home to fulfill the oath they made as kids: if Pennywise comes back, finish him off for good.

James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain and Bill Hader star in the film, with the original child cast led by Jaeden Martell and Finn Wolfhard returning in flashback scenes. The “It” director/writer duo of Andy Muschietti and Gary Dauberman return with producers Barbara Muschietti, Dan Lin and Roy Lee.

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“It Chapter Two” is a much grander project than the first film, for it encompasses the main characters as both children and adults. The main problem with the initial movie was that Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise was too much a special effect and too little a taunting and evil human in clown makeup, but in “It Chapter Two,” Skarsgård is allowed to make much more of a contribution.

The second half of the 1990 TV miniseries of “It,” which dealt with the child characters as adults, was much weaker than the first; “It Chapter Two” is stronger than its predecessor, partly because the adult actors give it so much emotional intensity, particularly James McAvoy as the grown-up Bill Denbrough and Jessica Chastain as the adult Beverly. It is also more impressive because Muschietti focuses more on intimate psychological horror and less on spectacle.

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Some very upsetting things happen in the first hour of “It Chapter Two,” none more so than the brutal gay-bashing and murder of the defiant Adrian Mellon (Xavier Dolan), which King based on the real-life hate-crime murder of Charlie Howard in Bangor, Maine, in 1984. Muschietti does not soft-pedal this sequence in any way, and he does not allow us to look away from the very abusive relationship in which Chastain’s adult Beverly finds herself.

King’s “It” takes the conception of evil very seriously and follows it to the most primal conclusions. Pennywise is strong because he lives on the fear of his victims, and he plays on weaknesses without mercy, like the worst kind of bully. The evil of Pennywise is linked to the evil of the homophobic gay bashers and of Beverly’s violent husband, but this is never simplistic. Dolan’s Mellon is not at all afraid of the bigots who kill him, while Beverly is not so much afraid of her husband as numb to him.

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Probably the best and the scariest sequence in “It Chapter Two” is also one of the simplest. Chastain’s Beverly goes back to her childhood home, where she is greeted by an elderly woman named Mrs. Kersh (Joan Gregson) who insists on inviting Beverly in for tea. Beverly looks around a bit, and when she sits down for the tea, Mrs. Kersh’s face seems to freeze slightly, as if she has begun to somehow malfunction. Muschietti seems to have realized that what Gregson is able to do with her face here, as a performer, is much more frightening than anything he might be able to do with a special effect.

And this realization extends to what happens next, when Beverly finds herself trapped in a hallway with Skarsgård’s Pennywise sitting down at the end of it. Pennywise is without his usual makeup, and he wears her father’s clothes and hair. He becomes Beverly’s abusive father here and speaks to her as her father until he starts to put on his clown make-up, and this is far more frightening as a visual idea than all of the other set pieces in this movie involving very elaborate and expensive-looking effects of insects with human faces and large statues that come to life.

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What stands out in “It Chapter Two” is not the clearly labored-over insect effects but that moment with Mrs. Kersh and the scene of Pennywise as Beverly’s father — both reliant on actors rather than technical wizardry. The human eye can tell that there is not much in effects but effects themselves with a story like this about evil. But an actor like Gregson or Skarsgård can channel evil for us because they are human, and so therefore are presumably familiar with evil and can show it under controlled conditions to an audience.

The strength of the King material is that it is without sentimentality; any bit of happiness here has to be earned through suffering and sometimes with wrenching sacrifice. King himself appears in “It Chapter Two” as a shop owner. He looks skinny, slightly stunned, harsh and un-smiling, a master of the macabre, and likely pleased with the success of these new “It” movies, financially and otherwise.

If Muschietti’s achievement with these two features is one more of managerial smarts and problem-solving than anything else, still his skill and control is welcome. And surely Muschietti’s “It” and “It Chapter Two” will both play better when seen together with added footage for the streaming release of his director’s cuts, when he won’t have to worry so much about running times.

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Penelope Cruz, Diane Kruger, Fan Bingbing, Sebastian Stan and Edgar Ramirez will also star in the film, which is being directed and co-written by longtime “X-Men” producer Simon Kinberg. The film follows several women from different espionage backgrounds who come together to stop a global terrorist plot.

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“355” was first pitched to potential buyers at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, triggering a bidding war for distribution rights that was won by Universal with a reported bid of over $20 million. Global Road and Amazon Studios were also among the bidders.

Filming on the project began last month in Europe. Kinberg is producing with Chastain and Kelly Carmichael and sharing writing credit with Theresa Rebeck.

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Two years ago, “It” smashed the glass ceiling for horror at the box office, earning a genre record $123 million domestic opening and $700 million worldwide, all on a very thrifty $35 million budget. That took trackers and analysts by surprise. But this time they’re expecting one of the biggest openings of the year.

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Some trackers are currently predicting a $100-110 million opening, but others are expecting an opening in the $120 million range. Analysts and rival distributors tell TheWrap they expect tracking to rise as the film’s Sept. 5 opening draws closer, and that it is likely that “Chapter Two” passes the bar set by the first film. Even if it opened to the lower figures being projected, both “It” films would stand as the two highest openings ever for a September release.

Warner Bros. has done very well in recent years releasing films in late August and early September, which have been regarded as one of the few remaining dead periods on the 52-week release calendar. Last year, “The Meg” legged out from its mid-August release slate into September, earning $145 million domestically.

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And on Labor Day weekend, another WB/New Line horror film, “The Nun,” opened to $53 million in the same weekend slot that “It: Chapter Two” is releasing, and went on to $117 million domestic against a $22 million budget. Expect this sequel, the pinnacle of New Line’s resurgence as a horror label, to blast past “The Nun” in less than a week.

Based on the second half of Stephen King’s iconic novel, “It: Chapter Two” takes place 27 years after the first film. The Losers Club, now adults who have gone their separate ways, reluctantly reunite in Derry to fulfill the blood oath they made to each other and finish off the evil Pennywise once and for all. Director/writer pair Andy Muschietti and Gary Dauberman return, as does the first film’s cast including Bill Skarsgard, Jaeden Martell and Finn Wolfhard. The film’s new cast includes James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader and Isaiah Mustafa.

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After 18 years, eight movies, and $5.13 billion in ticket sales, the “Fast and Furious” franchise has a fanbase like no other. Sure, filmmaker David Leitch felt “a lot of pressure” taking on “Hobbs & Shaw,” the first spinoff film, but there are many reasons why he felt confident he could do the series justice.

For one, Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw were already such beloved characters with great chemistry that he had a clear vision very early on about what he could do with this movie.

“What put me at ease was how successful those characters were in the last three installments,” Leitch told TheWrap. “They were defined and especially their dynamic was so fun.” Plus, it was another chance for Leitch to exhibit his well-earned chops for action sequences after spearheading “Atomic Blonde” (remember that epic seven-minute stairwell scene?) and “Deadpool 2.” And trust us, you won’t be disappointed in the amount of action in “Hobbs & Shaw.”

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“I have never made any sort of traction as a director by not making bold choices,” Leitch explained. “In ‘Atomic Blonde,’ we did the seven, eight-minute take and in this movie, we hang cars off a cliff. You gotta make bold choices because you want things to stick out, for better or worse.”

In “Hobbs & Shaw,” we see the two protagonists (and adversaries) joining forces for a mission that — not to be dramatic — will save the world. Idris Elba, Vanessa Kirby and Eiza Gonzalez also star in the film that was written by Chris Morgan and Drew Pearce.

Read below for TheWrap’s conversation with the filmmaker, where he touched on how he got involved in the project, what he considers was the biggest hurdle in terms of the crazy stunts, and what you’ll be able to see in bonus scenes down the line.

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TheWrap: How much pressure did you feel to direct the first spinoff of such a famous franchise, with such high profile actors?

Leitch: I guess I did feel a lot of pressure — but it wasn’t unlike stepping into the shoes on “Deadpool” and doing the sequel there. These guys are so beloved, I think what put me at ease was how successful those characters were in the last three installments. They were defined and especially their dynamic was so fun. I had a clear vision what I wanted to do with them, and I was pretty confident that it was going to be fun and we were going to do emotional stuff that worked in the “Fast & Furious” world. And we could definitely do some crazy action!

How did you get involved?

I got approached. We were still in post on “Deadpool 2,” and they were out looking for directors. It could’ve been that my name wasn’t brought up because they were thinking, “he’s done ‘Atomic Blonde,’ I don’t know if he’d want to do something this PG-13.” I don’t know what it was, but the script never crossed my table. My wife, Kelly McCormick, and Chris Morgan conspired somehow — we got the script and Kelly and I read it and we had the same epiphany: There is such a great dynamic between Dwayne and Jason and there are so many resources to do some great action, there’s a sense of comedy — we were just getting off of “Deadpool” and I felt my comedy chops were growing — we thought this is a cool opportunity to have all these resources, to work at Universal where I want to work and work with guys that I wanted to work together with for a long time, trying to put something together with Jason and Dwayne and now here they are, together in a movie. I was like, “let’s just do this!”

With [our production company] 87North, we have a first-look deal at Universal where we want to keep making these types of movies and franchise starters. We want to make “Atomic Blondes” and “John Wicks” and things in the action space for a price, and we want to help introduce new action directors to the world. Universal is supportive and we’re looking forward to making a lot movies there.

You’ve been doing these huge action films recently — do you feel like you’ve found your niche?

It’s hard for me to separate fully from action, I feel like I’ve been able to cross genres — I have made dramatic films in terms of “John Wick” and “Atomic,” and then I get to make comedy, full-on broad comedy with “Deadpool,” and then there’s “Hobbs and Shaw” which is this a buddy cop throwback, but I will always have an element of action and that’s what we want to do with this label. 87North wants to do the same. There might be some horror, there might be a thriller, there might be a comedy — as long as there is an action component, I’m in.

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What was, without a question, the biggest hurdle in terms of the stunts? Which one was hardest to pull off?

There were so many logistical puzzles on this movie, but I guess because I’ve been a journeyman in the stunt world, I’ve seen practical effects and stunts on all sorts of crazy levels. So none of it was so daunting where I was like, what? But I think the stuff we did in Samoa with the Blackhawk, and the helicopter dragging the cars around. All of those cars working together and the choreography of the helicopter being in the right place at the right time and physically getting the elements we needed to create that sequence, even though there was a lot of help from our CG brothers. There is so much that is real, and so many days of flying in a helicopter, photographing helicopters on a cliff edge with cars driving [needed] crazy precision. It’s pretty daunting that you are like, wow, we did this.

With these movies which are all HUGE and out of this world, how far did you think you could take this in terms of the stunts and the technology?

I think the thought was, “let’s have fun with it,” but I can’t say we didn’t have the conversations. Chris Morgan, who is such an architect of the franchise and the brainchild behind the crazy set-pieces, he just knows what the “Fast” fans like and how far they’ll go, and he was the one who embraced “go big.” I have never made any sort of traction as a director by not making bold choices. In “Atomic Blonde,” we did the seven, eight-minute take and in this movie, we hang cars off a cliff, you gotta make bold choices because you want things to stick out, for better or worse.

What’s one thing you wish you could’ve added or maybe deleted from the final cut?

There is always a lot left on the cutting room floor, but there wasn’t any scene in particular. We had a great editor, Christopher Rouse, who edits all the “Bourne” movies. He’s a prolific editor. We distilled this movie together down from two hours 50 minutes to two hours five minutes, but all the scenes are intact. There is great stuff in the diner with the guy who will remain nameless, and there is great stuff with the guy in the plane who will remain nameless. There was a lot more fighting in the Samoan fighting scenes — I’ve got another six-minute “Braveheart” action sequence if they want it. There were just bigger and longer scenes, but when you’re in post, compression makes things better. It’s hard as a director to let your darlings go, but the story needs a pace and you’ve got to keep the people engaged.

Did you learn anything from “Hobbs & Shaw” that you perhaps didn’t learn from previous sets?

Yeah, I think you take away something from every project. This one was the importance of a longer post. We had a 22-week post, it’s short, and we had 1,600 visual effects shots. It was fast and furious to the end, and that’s a pun I will lead with because it’s the truth — we haven’t stopped! It’s so funny: there have been no breaks in the making of this movie which has been good because it’s now over and it’s not dragging out anymore but it’s also like, holy crap, how did we do this from beginning to end in 12 months?

What’s next for you and your production company? Would you want to do a sequel? What can you tell me about “The Division?”

We are set up with “The Division” — Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Chastain are involved, and it’s such a compelling world in the game. I like the bigger theme that the everyman and woman are coming together to save the world, and you have these interesting characters that have to bond together under the most extreme circumstances for a common goal, which, I think, is a great message for the world. There are a lot of other projects and irons in the fire and scripts that are being written and things that I’m excited about.

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Conan O’Brien moderated the panel, which featured director Andy Muschietti alongside the folks who play the adult versions of the Losers Club from the first “It” — Jessica Chastain (Beverly), James McAvoy (Bill), Bill Hader (Richie), Jay Ryan (Ben), Isaiah Mustafa (Mike), James Ransone (Eddie) and Andy Bean (Stanley).

The group presented the new trailer for “It Chapter Two” along with three scenes that added up to about 20 minutes of the film, interspersed with questions that O’Brien asked the cast and capped with a half-hour of questions from fans in attendance. But you’re just here to read about what we saw, so let’s get to it.

It should go without say but, uh, spoilers from here on out.

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All three scenes were a doozie, and two of them were entirely new and not at all adapted from the Stephen King novel on which these movies are based.

The first of the three scenes showed the reunion of the Losers Club at the Chinese restaurant Jade of the Orient in fictional Derry, Maine, a scene that fans of the book will know well. The bulk of the first few minutes of the scene shows the group, minus Stanley, getting reacquainted and generally just shooting the s— and marveling at Ben’s transformation into a hot guy. And then they talk about why Mike called them all up to get them to come back to Derry.

Before they actually get to the why of it, though, they all describe how when Mike called them they were overwhelmed by just the most horrible feeling of dread and general terror that they can ever remember feeling — and that’s because they’ve largely forgotten the traumatic events of the first movie.

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Mike chalks this up to some kind of strange supernatural effect the town has on people — the longer you stay away, the more you forget. But Mike never moved away, and he never forgot about the horror that Pennywise wrought or the pact that the Losers made to take care of that clown should he ever show up again. And Mike called them all together for this reunion 27 years later because it appeared that Pennywise has done exactly that, with some mysterious disappearances very similar to the earlier events.

As Mike explains the situation, the other Losers start to remember what happened. And then, having finished their meals, they start to look at their fortune cookies, each of which contain a scrap of paper containing a single word. Realizing that this has to be some kind of supernatural thing, the men try to assemble the words into a sentence, but they can’t figure out one that makes sense. Until Beverly reveals she’s been holding onto one of these ersatz fortunes, which had Stanley’s name on it.

Then Bill adds that to the other and figures out that the words form this sentence: “Guess Stanley Could Not Cut It.”

Then the bowl of fortune cookies on the middle of the table starts to shake — or rather the cookies themselves are shaking. Then the cookies scatter themselves around the table, and then we see that something is moving in one of them. That thing breaks through the cookie shell, and then the scene cut to black just as it emerges.We Saw Three Scenes From “It: Chapter Two” at Comic-Con, and They Were Awesome

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The next scene is original to the movie and has no basis in the book at all. McAvoy explained it as being an expansion on something broached in the book, when Bill meets a kid who lives in the house that Bill’s family lived in when Georgie was taken by Pennywise. The scene shows Bill, concerned that kid might be in danger, following the kid around a carnival and into a funhouse in an attempt to protect him. After making his way through the funhouse, Bill ends up in a hall of mirrors that is also full of glass barriers that aren’t always easy to see.

Bill eventually finds himself on opposites sides of the glass from that kid, and then sees Pennywise behind the kid on the other side of another pane of glass, licking his extraordinarily long tongue up the glass in a a manner best described as “extremely unsettling.” Pennywise then smashes his face against the glass over and over until it cracks, smiles, then dramatically breaks through the glass as his gaping maw of a mouth envelops the screen.

McAvoy said he actually injured himself shooting that scene, straining both his quad muscles and giving himself tendinitis by repeatedly kicking the glass to try to save the kid.

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The third and final scene we saw had the Losers Club return to that creepy abandoned house that was the site of so much madness in the first movie. The group discusses what they’re going to do in there, when Bill notes that back in the day Richie had the best way of describing the plan. Richie doesn’t immediately remember what Bill is talking about, taking a couple incorrect guesses before it comes back to him: “Let’s kill this f—ing clown.” The header image on this post comes from this scene, by the way.

So they go into the house and things quickly start to go bad again, and the Losers Club is forcibly split into groups of three. We only saw how this played out for Bill, Richie and Eddie, who were stuck in a room with a small, old-style icebox that started shaking violently, then opened to reveal the twisted body of Stanley — who, in case you aren’t familiar with the book, died prior to the reunion, which was what that fortunate cookie was referring to.

Stanley’s head then falls out of the icebox and rolls to the opposite end of the room before facing the guys and talking to them. The big important part of this conversation comes when Stanley’s head tells Bill that he wouldn’t have died had Bill not gone on his crusade back in the first movie.

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And then something really gross happens. Stanley’s head begins to sprout insect legs — and it’s absolutely disgusting the way it occurs, with one leg bursting through his skin very messily, and one even coming out of his eye socket. It’s just so gross. And once all the legs, which all have fully articulated human hands, are out, Stanley’s head rushes directly at the guys.

And that was everything we saw. All three scenes looked great and were unsettling at best and genuinely upsetting at worst. They showed off a lot of things that are original to the movie, which is exciting because it means that fans of the book could still very well be surprised by how “It Chapter Two” plays out. Either way, though, it looks pretty great from what we’ve seen, and hopefully the full film can deliver on that promise when it lands in theaters Sept. 6.

TheWrap is in San Diego all week long for Comic-Con 2019 — check out all of our ongoing coverage here.

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But don’t expect a reboot into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the near future. Since the merger between Disney and Fox became official, fans have been wondering when to expect Fox characters like Wolverine and the X-Men joining the MCU, which has been set up at Disney. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said during the “Avengers: Endgame” press junket that “it’ll be a while” before we see the integration of the X-Men.

So with one of the longest-running movie franchises ever now coming to a close, and with the X-Men tabled for a little bit before Marvel brings them into the MCU, “Dark Phoenix” is a bit of a momentous event.

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Obviously, since there aren’t any more movies planned for this version of the “X-Men,” the film wouldn’t have a standard post-credits scene teasing the next film. But it could theoretically have an extra scene after or during the credits just to give the series a longer sendoff — “Dark Phoenix” is, after all, the work of writer/director Simon Kinberg, who has been involved with these movies for more than a decade now.

But if you’re hoping for any extra content after the credits, you’ll be disappointed. “Dark Phoenix” does not have a mid- or post-credits scene. Once the credits start rolling, the movie is over, and so you won’t risk missing anything by heading to the bathroom or just leaving if you have to.

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Based on the famed “X-Men” comics arc of the same name, “Dark Phoenix” follows Jean Grey (Turner) as her telepathic and telekinetic powers are heightened following a solar flare. However, the rise in those powers also creates an evil alter ego, the titular Dark Phoenix, which threatens to destroy both the X-Men and humanity.

Written and directed by Kinberg, the film also sees the return of James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Evan Peters to the cast, with Jessica Chastain also starring.

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Leitch is directing, while Rafe Judkins is adapting the screenplay based on the best-selling Tom Clancy video game. 87North Productions, Nine Stories and Freckle Films and Ubisoft Film and Television are producing the project.

“The Division” takes place in the near future when a pandemic virus spreads via paper money on Black Friday, killing millions. A group of civilians is activated to save who — and what — remains.

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“The Division” video game became the fastest-selling new IP in video game history when it launched in 2016. It has currently has more than 20 million players. “The Division 2” launched in March 2019.

Leitch boarded the project last year after “Gold” director Stephen Gaghan exited the film. He’s helmed “John Wick,” “Atomic Blonde,” “Deadpool 2” and the upcoming “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw.” Chastain and Gyllenhaal have been attached to the project since its conception.

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“I’d want to be Quicksilver,” the actress told TheWrap. “My dad was a hurdler and my brother ran track — plus, Quicksilver is so funny!”

Evan Peters reprised his role as the mutant with superspeed in “Dark Phoenix,” alongside Sophie Turner, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult and Jessica Chastain. “Dark Phoenix” marks the end of the Fox series of the “X-Men” films, given Disney’s acquisition of the studio, and thus, the future of the franchise is kind of up in the air right now.

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“I definitely cried,” Shipp said when asked how she felt on the last day of shooting. “It didn’t feel like an end to an era, though, because Disney hadn’t purchased Fox at the time so it was just like summer camp was ending, and it was one of those feelings, like, ‘I’ll miss you guys!’ We definitely felt it at the premiere though, like, ‘Yeah, this is the end.’ It’s bittersweet.”

Shipp’s character is able to manipulate the weather through the Earth’s electromagnetic field — her biggest asset is her ability to generate lightning and mist. In “Dark Phoenix,” she uses her powers in massive fight scenes, scenes that required a lot of mental and physical preparation.

“Before we started shooting, I was working out every day and then when I got on set, I started working out with the set team to make sure I knew the choreography and the wire work, and I wanted to do the stunts right,” she explained. “Everything was cohesive, so I was working out excessively… The train sequence was really fun, but the most fun was the fight scene with Ariki (Andrew Stehlin). He does incredible stunts, and he was so kind and so loving — there were moments when we were training and he told me, ‘You aren’t really hitting me’ and I was like, ‘I don’t want to hurt you,’ and he laughed in my face and said, ‘You’re not going to hurt me.’ I hit him and NOTHING happened. He then asked, ‘Are you good?’ Can I tell you? It felt good!”

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Overall, Shipp says “Dark Phoenix” felt different than “X-Men: Apocalypse,” in which she also played the mohawked superheroine, because the characters were more grounded in reality.

“This was a type of movie where we focused on the characters and not just their power — it was about their story and that was my favorite part,” she said. “These were people who had powers but didn’t want to be heroes, which is also something to say about the franchise — we play into the fact that we are a group of others that are just trying to live, and we’re not looking to be praised as heroes — it’s a plus, but we are just looking to be accepted in society.”

Shipp will next star in Tim Story’s “Shaft” alongside Samuel L. Jackson and Regina Hall, as well as “All the Bright Places,” “Lexi,” “Endless” and “Silk Road.”

“Dark Phoenix” opened on Friday and grossed $33 million at the box office.

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Of course, “Dark Phoenix” is practically a remake of “The Last Stand”: The timeline for these X-Men movies got reset in “Days of Future Past,” not that it made the continuity any clearer — 29-year-old Nicholas Hoult plays a character who should by now should be pushing 50, but nobody told the makeup department — and they’re officially back in familiar territory. And they’re making the same old mistakes.

Sophie Turner (“Game of Thrones”) returns as Jean Grey, a mutant with telepathic and telekinetic abilities who, during a daring rescue mission in outer space, absorbs an enormous amount of cosmic energy, amplifying her powers and making her mentally unstable. Or rather, they reveal to her why she’s been mentally unstable all along: Professor X (James McAvoy) constructed psychic walls within her mind to protect her from childhood trauma, and now it’s all flooding out at once, in a wave of violent superhuman outbursts.

Watch Video: Sophie Turner's Jean Grey Embraces Her Power in 'Dark Phoenix' Trailer: 'Bad Things Happen But It Feels Good'

While the X-Men try to find Jean and save her from herself (and to save everyone else from her, for that matter), a shapeshifting alien species lands on Earth and assumes human form. Led by Vuk, played by Jessica Chastain with all the energy of someone blackmailed into starring in a movie, they want Jean’s “Phoenix Force” for themselves, and they’re willing to kill to get it.

Since they’re based on the same comic book storyline, “Dark Phoenix” will give anyone who sat through “The Last Stand” a serious case of déjà vu. But it also (and probably more coincidentally) has distracting similarities to the recent superhero blockbuster “Captain Marvel,” from the hero who absorbs limitless cosmic energy and gets tracked down by shapeshifting aliens, to the disturbing subplot about women getting psychologically manipulated into suppressing their emotions in order to neutralize their agency and/or power.

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But whereas “Captain Marvel” led to the clear conclusion that these mental blocks were reprehensible, “Dark Phoenix” seems unwilling to pass judgment on Professor X for wronging Jean Grey. He broke her, but now only he can save her, and the solution to her problems can only come from putting all her trust in the man who manipulated her through her whole life. It’s a film about redeeming him for hurting a woman, not so much a film about the woman he wronged. And since the film’s antagonists are both powerful women, one overcome with dangerous emotions and one dangerously devoid of them, and since the film’s a body count that skews heavily towards one gender, it’s hard not to interpret “Dark Phoenix” as one-sided, paranoid, and sexist.

And even if you put all that aside, the story still doesn’t make any sense. Again, like “The Last Stand” before it, “Dark Phoenix” doubles down on the idea that Professor X manipulated Jean Grey’s mind, suppressed her abilities and her emotions and her memories, allegedly for “her own good.” Which is another way of saying that the whole story revolves around Professor X — a telepath who’s been reading other people’s thoughts for decades — having absolutely no idea how psychology works. Because surely repressing her traumatic memories won’t come back to bite Jean Grey in the future. What could possibly go wrong?

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It’s a premise built on a foundation of sand, and “Dark Phoenix” also looks frustratingly cheap. After an impressively heroic opening sequence in outer space, Kinberg’s film settles into ho-hum surroundings like schools, suburban homes, hotels and trains. The one time the movie goes someplace completely new — a place X-Men fans have probably wanted to see onscreen for 19 years — it looks like a community garden made out of leftover sets from “The Darkest Minds.” Get ready to thrill to the scene where the X-Men have to cross a street, and to the scene where they load half a dozen people onto the biggest train in history just because they gotta set the finale somewhere.

Yet all is not lost in “Dark Phoenix.” Some attention gets paid to the history of the characters, with Storm (Alexandra Shipp, “Love, Simon”) relating her trust of Apocalypse to the X-Men’s unwavering, and possibly ill-advised trust in Jean. It’s a real treat to see the X-Men acting like superheroes, embraced by the masses as part of a well-orchestrated publicity scheme. The action sequences are clearer and more inventive than usual, and the cinematography by Mauro Fiore (“The Magnificent Seven”) is bright and colorful. The film looks like a freshly printed comic book, and at its best it feels like one. You could absorb it with the sound off and have a perfectly adequate time.

Turn the sound on, and you’ll be stuck with a derivative story that eschews all the daring qualities of the original Marvel Comics “Dark Phoenix Saga” and drains them of their purpose. The comics version was about what happens when somebody you love does something terrible, even unforgivable. The movie tries to be about that same topic, but the franchise has already covered the material. Magneto (Michael Fassbender) committed mass murder, and he gets a free pass. Every. Single. Time. But for some reason, as soon as Jean Grey has a body count of one — by accident no less — everyone’s ready to execute her on sight.

For a story as big as the one “Dark Phoenix” wants to tell, it’s a very tiny motion picture, full of events that could have transpired (and many of them did) in just about any other X-Men movie. Turner makes the most of her increased screen time, trying with some success to infuse the simplistic and irrational storyline with some humanity, but everyone else looks like they’re more interested in what craft service made for lunch that day. It’s a whole lot of nothing, made from the scraps of something great, assembled with Scotch tape, and ready to fall over.

It would be wonderful to report that “Dark Phoenix” was an impressive send-off to this long-running franchise (especially since the next film, “New Mutants,” isn’t coming out anytime soon). In a strange way, it might have been preferable if this was the most embarrassing film in the series, since at least then there’d be a reason to remember it. Instead it’s just a disappointingly average superhero flick, with a familiar story, disinterested actors, some cool action sequences, and a whole lot of missed opportunities.

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Kruger replaces Marion Cotillard, who left the project in May due to personal reasons. Kruger joins an all-star cast that includes Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, Penelope Cruz and Fan Bingbing. Sebastian Stan and Edgar Ramirez also star.

“355” is a spy thriller about a group of women each from international agencies across the world who have to band together to stop a global threat. Their faction is codenamed 355, and the team is named after the first female spy in the American Revolution.

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The project was a hot sales title at Cannes in 2018, and Universal acquired the U.S. distribution rights. Kinberg, whose film “Dark Phoenix” is opening this weekend, is directing from a script by Theresa Rebeck. Chastain and Kelly Carmichael will produce via their Freckle Films alongside Kinberg’s Kinberg Genre.

CAA Film Finance brokered the deal with Film Nation handling international sales.

Kruger most recently starred in “The Operative,” which premiered at this year’s Berlin Film Festival. She also won an award at Cannes for Best Actress for her work in the drama “In The Fade,” a prize that was selected when both Chastain and Bingbing were on the Cannes jury in 2017.

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Kruger is repped UTA, UBBA, Untitled, Altitude Management and Peikoff Mahan.

Variety first reported the news of Kruger’s casting.

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Octavia Spencer does some crazy, crazy stuff in “Ma,” from locking up teenagers to sewing their mouths shut. The actress was game for a lot, director Tate Taylor tells TheWrap, but was scared of shooting one particular scene in the horror movie.

“She was so game, her favorite guilty pleasure in real life is watching murder TV and forensic shows — she loves it,” Taylor said. “The only thing she wasn’t excited about was that huge explosion in the basement — that was real and it was scary.”

To calm Spencer down, Taylor said, a “really handsome” special effects guy gave her a big hug and told her: “Look me in the eye — we’ve got this.” In fact, the scene was incredibly difficult to shoot because they just had one day to shoot it.

See Video: Octavia Spencer Traumatizes Teenagers in Chilling 'Ma' First Trailer

Spencer plays Ma, a veterinary assistant living in a small town with not much to do. She comes across a group of teenagers who just want to drink and have a good time, so she gives up her basement for them to do it safely. Soon, things turn sinister, and the teenagers start to fear for their life.

“I wanted to freak everyone out,” Taylor said. “I wish it was three hours long because I had so many crazy ideas!”

It turns out Ma had suffered some trauma in that town in the past — the kids in her school bullied and tormented her, which never really left Ma — so she seeks revenge. There’s no supernatural explanation for her behavior — Taylor really wanted to focus on how mental health and trauma can affect us years down the line.

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“She suffered horrible trauma and abuse, and this is a reaction to that abuse. I want people to look at that trauma and mental illness and how we treat people and what we can do,” he explained. “When the script came to me, there was no backstory for Ma. I said, ‘If I’m going to do this, it can’t be the crazy woman doing this to kids.’ I wanted to understand why she is like that and you want to establish empathy for your villain. I brought that to the story. Bringing the supernatural into it is not how I tell stories — it’s too easy.”

Spencer and Taylor had previously worked together on “The Help” and “Get On Up,” so it was easy for Taylor to see Spencer in his most recent film. Also, they are very close, and Taylor knew Spencer was ready to try something new.

“She’s my best friend, we talk every day,” Taylor said of Spencer. “I was about to go meet with Blumhouse, and she told me she was sick of doing the same thing over and over again, and that as a woman of color, you don’t get offered the cool, weird stuff. A month later, I was at Blumhouse and they presented the script to me — but it was written for a white woman. I thought, ‘Nah, this should be Octavia.'”

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He added: “There’s a group of people that I love and it’s easier when you know someone’s skills and if they are cool, you want to work with them.”

That’s true of his other frequent collaborator, Jessica Chastain, with whom he also worked on “The Help.” Recently, Taylor signed on to direct Chastain’s “Eve” after director Matthew Newton exited the project following online backlash due to his history of being accused of assault and domestic violence.

“I’m all about friendship and loyalty, and I had a real friend who had a movie which was about to fall apart,” Taylor said of “Eve.” “When you’re making a movie, it’s not just about the studio and the actors — there are a lot of people on the crew, and this is their livelihood. It has an effect on people and Jessica was my friend and she said, ‘I need help.’ I came on three weeks before we started shooting.”

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After “Eve,” Taylor will direct “George and Tammy,” also starring Chastain, as well as “Breaking News in Yuba County,” which will star Awkwafina, Mila Kunis and Allison Janney. Taylor’s other directing credits include “The Girl on the Train” and “Pretty Ugly People,” and he’s acted in films like “Winter’s Bone” and “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion.”

“Ma” also stars Juliette Lewis, Diana Silvers, Luke Evans, McKaley Miller, Missi Pyle, Corey Fogelmanis, Marjay Ross, Gianni Paolo, and Dante Brown. Jason Blum produced through Blumhouse Productions. It was released on Friday and earned $18.1 million domestically.

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In the 10 years that TheWrap has been going to Cannes, exactly 198 films have screened in the main competition. So we assembled our own Cannes jury, made up of the writers who have reviewed the festival’s films for us over the last decade, to pick TheWrap’s Top 10, 2009-2018.

The participants were Ben Croll, Alonso Duralde, Eric Kohn, Steve Pond and Sasha Stone, and here are the results of their votes. By the way, three of our Top 10 — The Tree of Life,Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Livesand Amour — won the Palme d’Or.

1. “Melancholia” — Lars von Trier, 2011

Searching for answers, waiting for miracles–these seem to be the themes of many of the best films at the Cannes Film Festival. And Lars von Trier’s “Melancholia” is certainly one of the best. You still won’t find any answers to life’s biggest questions here: This is a film about the end of the world, or it’s a film about the end of a family, a marriage, stability or sanity. Interpret it as you will…It’s compelling to watch up until the very last burst of genius by a director who seems to enjoy the irritants he slips between our toes. –Sasha Stone

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2. “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” — Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2010

Magical, strange, funny, perplexing and yes, occasionally boring, “Uncle Boonmee” is a reverie that encompasses life and death, the spirit world and strange characters in monkey costumes. It’s accurate to say that it is the weirdest film in the 2010 Cannes competition–but weirdis a dangerously dismissive adjective to pin on a movie whose images will resonate and reverberate.  –Steve Pond

3. “Holy Motors” — Leos Carax, 2012

Director Leos Carax tends to craft a particular brand of cinematic freak-out, but this outing feels more approachable, if no less inscrutable. A meditation on the glory and the terror of cinema and its dreamlike powers, the movie features an extraordinary turn by the great Denis Lavant, going through the day playing a series of characters on behalf of mysterious employers, all the while being driven around in a limousine steered by legendary actress Edith Scob, who eventually pays homage to her own immortal appearance in 1960’s “Eyes Without a Face.” All this, plus cameos by Kylie Minogue (who sings a heartbreaking love song) and Eva Mendes. –Alonso Duralde

(TIE) 4. “Carol” — Todd Haynes, 2015

The world of Todd Haynes’ “Carol” is one of whispered secrets and furtive glances, one in which the smallest of gestures can be huge. It is a world that could collapse into melodrama if it weren’t perfectly calibrated–but in the hands of Haynes and of actresses Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, the exquisite restraint of the filmmaking and the acting made for a powerful experience for most of the audience at its first screening at the Cannes Film Festival. “Carol” is both a beautiful miniature and a majestic romance; it’s set 60 years in the past, but it’s for now. –SP

(TIE) 4. “Inside Llewyn Davis” — Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, 2013

Inside Llewyn Davisisn’t about success at all. It’s about failure, artistic failure, personal failure, and how the smallest fumbles can forever alter the course of your life–a cat accidentally gets out, you forget to use a condom, you’re trying to become a big folk singer right before Dylan comes to town. But what if the big break you’re hoping for never comes? You are then left to sift through the wreckage of that dream.  Inside Llewyn Daviscomes like a breath of fresh air at Cannes, an accomplished, breathtaking work, a portrait of a specific time and place before everything changed. –SS

(TIE) 4. “Toni Erdmann” — Maren Ade, 2016

The most delightful surprise of the festival is German director Ade’s generous, hysterically funny but deeply touching father-daughter story that lasts for two hours and 42 minutes but doesn’t waste a moment and doesn’t feel anywhere near that long. At a festival full of bold, messy films that make you want to give them the benefit of the doubt, this one is a knockout that doesn’t need any allowances. –SP

(TIE) 4. “The Tree of Life” – Terrence Malick, 2011

This is a work assembled in rapturous montage. It’s the most daring and unconventional film that a major or major-affiliated studio will release this year not because it opens with a half-hour reverie that begins with parents learning of a child’s death and works in the creation of the universe — but because once it leaves that gorgeous sequence, it continues to use those rhythms and moods to tell the story. “The Tree of Life” is a dreamscape built on the words of the mystical medieval monk Thomas à Kempis and the music of Berlioz and Brahms and Bach and Ligeti. At its best, it finds a true “way of grace,” a phrase taken from a crucial line by star Jessica Chastain. –SP

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(TIE) 8. “Another Year” – Mike Leigh, 2010

Another humane, gutting look at life from Mike Leigh, this time focusing on married couple Ruth Sheen and Jim Broadbent and the comings and goings of relatives and friends — particularly one played by Lesley Manville in a brilliant, devastating performance — over the course of 12 months. As ever, this filmmaker and his talented ensemble find the poetry in the quotidian. –AD

(TIE) 8. “A Prophet” – Jacques Audiard, 2009

True to its title, “A Prophet” is a kind of minor cinematic miracle that works with equal sophistication on three different levels. Audiard takes a classic coming-of-age structure — about a boy who learns in prison what it takes to be man — and forges it into the most devilishly satisfying crime thriller of the past decade. Eager to entertain, the film offers a mounting series of double-crosses, power plays and nervily suspenseful set pieces for nearly two-and-a-half hours — but it uses those gangster trappings to craft a searing political document, a sly and inquisitive indictment of class, race and social status in modern French society. –BEN CROLL

10. “Amour” – Michael Haneke, 2012

With his previous film, “The White Ribbon,” and then with “Amour,” Haneke seems to be showing a more humane side than the manipulative and even sadistic streak he revealed in films like “Funny Games.” But even so, he keeps things cool and detached enough to avoid the easy bathos that could come out of a story like this one. He bolts his camera still for long periods and expects you to figure out why, and he shuns anything extraneous. Is “Amour” hard to watch? Emotionally, yes, but it’s never tedious or meandering or spinning its wheels. It pulses with vitality, even as its main characters cope with life’s passing.  –AD

Also:

11. “A Touch of Sin,” Jia Zhang-ke, 2013
12. “Antichrist,” Lars von Trier, 2009
(TIE) 13.  “Elle,” Paul Verhoeven, 2016
“Enter the Void,” Gaspar Noé, 2009
“The Skin I Live In,” Pedro Almodóvar, 2011
(TIE) 16. “Mommy,” Xavier Dolan, 2014
“The Time That Remains,” Elia Suleiman, 2009
(TIE) 18. “Bright Star,” Jane Campion, 2009
“Paterson,” Jim Jarmusch, 2016
“The Salesman,” Asghar Farhadi, 2016

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The film will be based on the documentary of the same name that was directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato from World of Wonder. Abe Sylvia wrote the script for the feature. Chastain is producing alongside her producing partner Kelly Carmichael through their Freckle Films production banner, and Gigi Pritzker and Rachel Shane through their MWM Studios are also producing. Jordana Mollick is executive producing.

Tammy Faye Bakker was an American singer, evangelist and television personality who first gained recognition for “The PTL Club,” a televangelist program she co-founded with her then-husband Jim Bakker in 1974. In 1978, the pair built a Christian theme park called Heritage USA. Later, Jim Bakker was indicted, convicted and imprisoned on numerous counts of fraud and conspiracy. The couple divorced, and she married Roe Messner. She was then diagnosed with colon cancer in 1996 and died of the disease in 2007.

Also Read: 'It: Chapter 2' Trailer: Pennywise Says Hello to Jessica Chastain and the Losers Club (Video)

Chastain most recently starred in “Woman Walks Ahead” and will next be seen in “X-Men: Dark Phoenix” and “It: Chapter 2” as the adult version of Beverly Marsh.

Garfield just starred in “Under the Silver Lake” and “Silence,” and will next be seen in “Mainstream.” He was also recently tapped so play pianist James March in “Instrumental,” which will be shopped at the Cannes Film Festival later this month. He’s also been performing in “Angels in America” on Broadway, which garnered him a Tony for his performance.

Also Read: Jessica Chastain Calls Out 'Game of Thrones' for Depicting Sansa's Rape as Character Development

Chastain and Garfield are both represented by CAA; Mosaic also reps Chastain. Showalter is represented by UTA and Artists First.

Variety first reported the news.

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Pennywise is back and here to say hello to the Losers Club in the first teaser for “IT: Chapter Two.”

Jessica Chastain’s Beverly is all grown up, and she’s returned to Derry to visit her childhood home. But in a chilling extended sequence, she finds the past waiting there for her, with a little old woman who appears to be possessed by that demonic clown.

“But you know what they say about Derry, no one who dies here ever really dies,” the woman says before a long, uncomfortable pause.

Also Read: Jessica Chastain Says 'IT: Chapter Two' Has Bloodiest Scene in Horror Film History (Video)

“IT: Chapter Two,” takes place 27 years after the events of last year’s monster hit, as the members of the “Losers Club” have all grown up and moved out of Derry… until a devastating phone call brings them all back.

The adult versions of the “Losers Club” features Jessica Chastain (Beverly Marsh), Bill Hader (Richie Tozier), James McAvoy (Bill Denbrough), Jay Ryan (Ben Hanscom), James Ransone (Eddie Kaspbrak), Isaiah Mustafa (Mike Hanlon) and Andy Bean (Stanley Uris).

Bill Skarsgard will return as Pennywise the Clown. The film is set to be released Sept. 6.

Also Read: Every Stephen King Movie, Ranked Worst to Best (Photos)

“IT” grossed $327.5 million in the U.S. and Canada in 2017 and $700.4 million worldwide on a $35 million production budget. The film had the No. 1 opening weekend for a fall release and was 2017’s No. 7 highest-grossing movie.

Watch the new trailer above.

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Jessica Chastain had harsh criticism for “Game of Thrones” after the show’s most recent episode saw Sansa Stark, played by Chastain’s “X-Men: Dark Phoenix” co-star Sophie Turner, said her past trauma, including rape, was an important part of her personal development.

The scene came mid-way through Sunday’s “The Last of the Starks,” when Sansa sits down to talk to Sandor Clegane — AKA The Hound — f0r the first time since they parted ways back in Season 2. At the time, Sansa was being held hostage by King Joffrey and Clegane offered to help her escape; unsure who to trust, she turned him down.

Fans of the show know Sansa experienced a lot of horrors after that. Chief among them was her marriage to lord Ramsay Bolton who, in one of the show’s most divisive storylines, brutally tortured and raped her. She eventually escaped, reunited with Jon Snow, oversaw the cruel (but let’s face it, 100% justified) execution of Ramsay, and is now the Lady of Winterfell.

Also Read: 'Game of Thrones': Grey Worm Actor Shares What He and Missandei Are Up to 'Somewhere in the Multiverse' (Video)

Sansa and Clegane’s exchange in “The Last of the Starks” is brief, but significant. He tells her “you’ve changed, little bird,” which was the nickname he had for her back when she was a little girl being held hostage by King Joffrey. “Used to be you couldn’t look at me.”

“That was a long time ago. I’ve seen much worse than you since then,” she replies.

Clegane says “Yes, I’ve heard. I heard you were broken in. Broken in rough,” and then adds that “none of it would have happened if you’d left King’s Landing with me. No Littlefinger. No Ramsay. None of it.”

At this point, Sansa tells him: “Without Littlefinger and Ramsay and the rest, I would have stayed a little bird all my life.”

That last bit is what angered Chastain. “Rape is not a tool to make a character stronger. A woman doesn’t need to be victimized in order to become a butterfly. The little bird was always a Phoenix. Her prevailing strength is solely because of her. And her alone,” she tweeted.

Rape is not a tool to make a character stronger. A woman doesn’t need to be victimized in order to become a butterfly. The #littlebird was always a Phoenix. Her prevailing strength is solely because of her. And her alone.#GameOfThrones pic.twitter.com/TVIyt8LYxI

— Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) May 7, 2019

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There’s something for everyone in this movie starring Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen, and you’ll especially find yourself laughing so much your stomach will hurt. Rogen plays a writer who gets hired by Theron during her tenure as Secretary of State — but of course, romance gets the best of them.

Detective Pikachu (May 10)

Whether you lived through the era of Pokemon or not, you know it was a worldwide phenomenon. Pairing the cutest Pokemon of all with the voice of Ryan Reynolds seems like a home run.

John Wick: Chapter 3 (May 17)

The “John Wick” franchise has worked well consistently for Lionsgate, and footage shown at CinemaCon of Halle Berry, Keanu Reeves and dogs (!) received roars and “oh dang’s!” from the audience. We’re in a for a fun ride with this one.

Booksmart (May 24)

Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut has received praise since its premiere at SXSW. Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein play two high schoolers who decide to cram their entire high school experience (which they spent studying) into one night of partying. Jason Sudeikis, Billie Lourd and Will Forte also star.

Aladdin

Disney has been consistently wowing audiences with their live-action adaptations of their famous IP. Although “Aladdin” had a little bit of a rough start when the first trailer debuted, the latest trailer brought people around. “Aladdin” stars Will Smith, Naomi Scott, Mena Massoud, Billy Magnussen and Alan Tudyk.

Brightburn 

“Brightburn” is the more sinister take on the Superman tale, and it stars Elizabeth Banks, David Denman and Matt Jones.

Ad Astra (May 24)

This drama has been a hot title since its announcement in 2016. The James Gray-directed space odyssey film has been pushed a few times, but stars Brad Pitt, Ruth Negga, Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland.

Rocketman (May 31)

After the success of the Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a film about Elton John is highly anticipated — especially because director Dexter Fletcher worked on both, “Rocketman” is expected to look at John’s tumultuous life. Taron Egerton stars as the famous singer, alongside Richard Madden, Bryce Dallas Howard and Jamie Bell.

Ma (May 31)

Octavia Spencer wanted to do something different after dramas like “Hidden Figures” and “The Shape of Water,” and something different, she did. Spencer stars in this horror film as a woman who invites teenagers to drink in their basement — before things take a strange turn.

X-Men Dark Phoenix (June 7)

“X-Men: Dark Phoenix” is highly anticipated due to the subject matter and the cast, and because it’s one of the last “X-Men” movies before the property gets absolved into Disney. Sophie Turner returns as Jean Grey, and the film also stars Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Evan Peters — and many, many more.

Men In Black: International (June 14)

In this new iteration of the “Men in Black” franchise, we see Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth as agents who tackle the organization’s biggest threat yet — a mole. F. Gary Gray directs.

Shaft (June 14)

The reboot of the 2000 crime (which is a reboot of the 1971 blaxploitation movie) thriller brings back Samuel L. Jackson as John Schaft II. This version will also star Regina Hall, Avan Jogia, Alexandra Shipp and Matt Lauria.

Toy Story 4 (June 21)

It’s been nine years since we saw “Toy Story 3” (and 24 years since the first one hit theaters), and Woody, Buzz, Jessie and Bo Peep are back! This movie will go back to its roots and focus on Woody again.

Annabelle Comes Home (June 28)

The “Annabelle” movies have proven a successful spinoff franchise of the “Conjuring” universe, and “Annabelle Comes Home” will be third iteration. This time, the cursed doll is put into the artifacts room of the Warrens for protection — but of course, she gets out.

Spider-Man: Far From Home (July 5)

After “Spider-Man: Homecoming’s” successful run at the box office (the film grossed $880.2 million worldwide), Tom Holland will return as Peter Parker in “Far From Home.” An added plus? Jake Gyllenhaal joins the cast as villain Mysterio.

The Farewell (July 12)

Awkwafina’s “The Farewell” debuted to huge fanfare at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, and was bought by A24 for $6-$7 million following its premiere. The film directed by Lulu Wang and starring Awkwafina tells the story of a Chinese family that opts not to tell their beloved matriarch about her lung cancer diagnosis, instead scheduling an impromptu wedding-reunion to give everyone the chance to say their goodbyes.

The Lion King  (July 19)

In what might be one of the most anticipated movies of the year, Jon Favreau’s live-action adaptation of the classic Disney tale stars huge names like Donald Glover, Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Keegan-Michael Key and Beyonce!

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (July 26)

Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming film follows a faded TV star and his stunt double who try to make it in Hollywood in 1969. Of course, that’s the same time the murder of Sharon Tate happened by members of the Manson Family. Margot Robbie stars as Tate, while Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Al Pacino, Kurt Russell and Damian Lewis also star.

Hobbs and Shaw (August 2)

This “Fast & Furious” spinoff will focus on two of the best characters from the franchise: Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham). Plus, we get a film that is directed by action master David Leitch and also stars Idris Elba, Eiza Gonzalez and Vanessa Kirby.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (August 9)

What would happen to you if you face your fears? That’s what Andre Ovredal’s “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” will take on. Plus, Guillermo del Toro is a co-writer on the film, so we would bet money on the fact that this will be bonkers.

The Kitchen 

Elisabeth Moss, Tiffany Haddish and Melissa McCarthy starring as mob wives who take on their husbands’ crimes? Yes please! Footage shown at CinemaCon wowed audiences — plus, this is the directorial debut for “Straight Outta Compton” writer Andrea Berloff.

Where’d You Go, Bernadette? (August 16)

Richard Linklater is back with the adaptation of Maria Semple’s 2012 comedy novel, which follows Bernadette Fox, a woman who unexpectedly disappears. Cate Blanchett, Kristen Wiig and Judy Greer star.

Midsommar (July 3)

“Midsommar” is the follow up to Ari Aster’s “Hereditary,” a film that horrified people across the nation. Florence Pugh, Will Poulter and Jack Reynor star in the film about a summer trip where things quickly take a horrific turn.

Blinded by the Light (August 14)

Gurinder Chadha’s “Blinded by the Light” took the Sundance Film Festival by storm as it follows a teenager who lives his life through the music of Bruce Springsteen.

Good Boys (August 16)

Dubbed “Pineapple Express” for young boys, “Good Boys” stars Jacob Tremblay, Brady Noon and Keith L. Williams, who ditch school to go on a journey while accidentally carrying stolen drugs and trying to make it home for a party. Seth Rogen, James Weaver, Lee Eisenberg and Evan Goldberg are producing.

Late Night (June 7)

Mindy Kaling wrote “Late Night,” which also made a huge splash at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year before it was acquired by Amazon for a whopping $13 million. It stars Emma Thompson as a legendary talk show host who must revamp her image to make sure her show doesn’t get canceled.

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (May 3)

Zac Efron takes on infamous serial killer Ted Bundy in Joe Berlinger’s film that debuted at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. It is told from the perspective of Bundy’s former girlfriend, who is played by Lily Collins.

Wine Country (May 10)

Amy Poehler’s directorial debut follows a group of friends who have an epic 50th birthday celebration for their friend in Napa. Maya Rudolph, Ana Gasteyer, Rachel Dratch and Tina Fey star — so we’re almost positive this is going to be one hilarious romp.

David Crosby: Remember My Name (July 19)

A.J. Eaton directs this portrait of American singer-songwriter David Crosby. The film debuted at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival to huge praise.

The Dead Don’t Die (June 14)

Jim Jarmush directs this comedic horror film about zombies starring Chloe Sevignu, Adam Driver, Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, Steve Buscemi and Selena Gomez.

Sophie Turner’s Jean Grey embraces her decidedly fearsome powers in the final trailer for “Dark Phoenix,” the upcoming X-Men movie franchise spinoff.

“When I lose control, bad things happen… but it feels good,” Turner’s Jean Grey says in the new footage released on Wednesday.

“She’ll kill us all,” James McAvoy’s Professor X adds.

“Dark Phoenix” is arriving in theaters on time on June 7 after the sale of Fox to Disney, which will eventually reunite the X-Men with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But for now, we get one final look at writer-director Simon Kinberg’s X-Men franchise.

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The film is based on a famous “X-Men” storyline of the same name by Chris Claremont and John Byrne in which Jean Grey merges with a cosmic entity that embodies the universal energy of creation and destruction and gives her immense, enhanced psychic abilities.

It even results in the tragic death of Jean, but hardcore fans know that the real Jean Grey is still alive and innocent of Dark Phoenix’s crimes.

Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Evan Peters and Jessica Chastain all star in “Dark Phoenix.”

Also Read: How Disney Could Shake Up Fox Film Slate, Starting With Brad Pitt's 'Ad Astra'

Here’s the official synopsis for the film:

This is the story of one of the X-Men’s most beloved characters, Jean Grey, as she evolves into the iconic DARK PHOENIX. During a life-threatening rescue mission in space, Jean is hit by a cosmic force that transforms her into one of the most powerful mutants of all.  Wrestling with this increasingly unstable power as well as her own personal demons, Jean spirals out of control, tearing the X-Men family apart and threatening to destroy the very fabric of our planet.  The film is the most intense and emotional X-Men movie ever made. It is the culmination of 20 years of X-Men movies, as the family of mutants that we’ve come to know and love must face their most devastating enemy yet — one of their own.

“Dark Phoenix” hits theaters June 7 in association with Marvel Entertainment. Watch the new trailer above.

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In the footage, Jessica Chastain’s Beverly Marsh returned to her childhood apartment only to find her father had passed away. In the background, we see a creepy character — which marked the beginning of a terrifying footage presentation.

The camera pans to the adult versions of the “Losers Club”: Chastain (Beverly Marsh), Bill Hader (Richie Tozier), James McAvoy (Bill Denbrough), Jay Ryan (Ben Hanscom), James Ransone (Eddie Kaspbrak), Isaiah Mustafa (Mike Hanlon) and Andy Bean (Stanley Uris). The rest of the footage showed blood, gore and, well — Pennywise.

Also Read: Looks Like Pennywise Beat Up James McAvoy on the Set of 'IT: Chapter 2' (Photo)

“IT: Chapter Two,” takes place 27 years after the events of last year’s monster hit, as the members of the “Losers Club” have all grown up and moved out of Derry… until a devastating phone call brings them all back.

Bill Skarsgard will return as Pennywise the Clown. The film is set to be released Sept. 6.

“IT” grossed $327.5 million in the U.S. and Canada in 2017 and $700.4 million worldwide on a $35 million production budget. The film had the No. 1 opening weekend for a fall release and was 2017’s No. 7 highest-grossing movie.

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Both William and Wahlberg were asked to reshoots their scenes in Ridley Scott’s movie after Kevin Spacey, accused of sexual misconduct by multiple men, was replaced by Christopher Plummer.

“In late 2017, the news broke that I’d been paid less than $1,000 compared to the $1.5 million that my male counterpart had received for the exact same amount of work,” Williams said Tuesday.  “And guess what? No one cared.”

Also Read: Michelle Williams Made $1,000 for 'All the Money' Reshoots, Mark Wahlberg Made $1.5 Million (Report)

Advocating for the Paycheck Fairness Act while speaking on Capitol Hill, Williams said the disparity came as no surprise to her.

“It simply reinforced my life-learned belief that equality is not an inalienable right and that women would always be working just as hard for less money while shouldering more responsibility at home,” she said. “I’ve been accredited by my industry at the highest levels and that still didn’t translate to equal and fair compensation.”

Wahlberg received more than 1,000 times as much money as Williams did because reshoots were not in his contract, an individual with knowledge of the deal told TheWrap at the time. Wahlberg’s agent, Ari Emanuel of WME, negotiated the new deal.

On Tuesday, Williams joined House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus to celebrate Equal Pay Day. She said that eventually the glaring disparity was widely condemned, thanks in part to fellow actress Jessica Chastain, who made note of it on Twitter.

“Jessica’s audience was much wider than mine and she wasn’t afraid to pick up a megaphone and be heard. And heard she was; there was an uproar and a public shaming within my industry that resulted in a $2 million donation to the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund,” Williams said.

Wahlberg donated the money he received for the reshoots in Williams’ name to #TimesUp, the legal defense fund founded in response to the #MeToo movement.

Williams added she has noticed a change in the industry since.

“Rather than being grasped too tightly and hugged for too long as a morning greeting, my hand was shaken and I was looked squarely in the eye and I was welcomed to my Monday morning,” she said. “I realized this is what it actually feels like to be on the inside, to be one of the boys. In this space, respect and safety are out in the open. They are not just found in the shadows and the corners.”

Also Read: Michelle Williams Praises Mark Wahlberg, WME for #TimesUp Donation

“On the job I just completed two weeks ago, let me tell you something: I was paid equally with my male co-star,” she added.

Tune in as actor Michelle Williams joins House Democrats for an #EqualPayDay event calling on the Senate to hold a vote on the #PaycheckFairnessAct! https://t.co/ZiK2LjmWnS

– Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) April 2, 2019

Please go see Michelle's performance in All The Money in The World. She's a brilliant Oscar nominated Golden Globe winning actress. She has been in the industry for 20 yrs. She deserves more than 1% of her male costar' s salary. https://t.co/HIniew6lf7

— Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) January 10, 2018

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Jessica Chastain revealed quite the spoiler during her appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” about her upcoming film, “IT: Chapter Two” — that it has a scene that might have the most blood in the history of horror films.

“OK, I’m going to say something, and I think I’m going to be in trouble, but I’m going to do it,” Chastain said on Wednesday’s late-night show. “It might be a spoiler. But in the movie, there’s a scene that someone said on set that it’s the most blood that’s ever been in a horror film in a scene. And I’ll tell you, the next day I was like pulling blood out of my eyeballs. Fake blood.”

Really? Bloodier than “Suspiria,” “Carrie” or “The Shining?”

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“IT: Chapter Two” takes place 27 years after the events of last year’s monster hit, as the members of the “Losers Club” have all grown up and moved out of Derry… until a devastating phone call brings them back.

Bill Skarsgard will return as Pennywise the Clown. Other cast members include Bill Hader (Richie Tozier), James McAvoy (Bill Denbrough), Jay Ryan (Ben Hanscom), James Ransone (Eddie Kaspbrak), Isaiah Mustafa (Mike Hanlon) and Andy Bean (Stanley Uris).

Also Read: 'IT Chapter Two': Warner Bros Gives First Sneak Peek of Adult Cast

“IT” grossed $327.5 million in the U.S. and Canada in 2017, and $700.4 million worldwide, on a $35 million production budget. The film had the No. 1 opening weekend for a fall release, and was 2017’s No. 7 highest-grossing movie.

“IT: Chapter Two” will hit theaters on Sept. 6.

Watch the video above.

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The plot for the film is being kept under wraps, but the production companies on the project, Voltage Pictures and Freckle Films, describe it as a character-driven action-drama.

Along with Oscar-nominee Chastain, Davis and Chen (“Judge Dredd,” “Lust Caution”) join a cast that boasts Colin Farrell, Common and Oscar-nominee John Malkovich.

Also Read: Fans Ask Jessica Chastain to Drop Director Matthew Newton Over Past Assault Accusations

“Eve” is being directed by “The Help” and “Winter’s Bone” director Tate Taylor, who took over the project in August after Matthew Newton exited the project after fans resurfaced accusations of domestic abuse made against him in the past.

Principal photography on “Eve” began in Boston on Sept. 24.

Davis’ credits include “The Fly,” “Beetlejuice,” “Thelma & Louise,” “A League of Their Own” and “The Accidental Tourist,” for which she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

Chen recently starred in Netflix’s series, “Marco Polo” and just wrapped “Tigertail,” a Netflix film directed by starring Alan Yang (“Master of None”) as well as John Cho. Chen is probably best known for her role on the original “Twin Peaks.”

Chen is repped by Inphenate and attorney Stuart Rosenthal.

Voltage will fully finance “Eve” and handle worldwide sales. Nicolas Chartier and Dominic Rustam are producing for Voltage, alongside Chastain and Kelly Carmichael who are producing for Freckle Films. Jonathan Deckter, John Norris, Erika Hampson, and William Earon are serving as executive producers.

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Many studios, networks and other entertainment companies have tightened contract language and increased employee training programs to prevent harassment in executive offices, on film and TV sets and even in audition rooms, executives and entertainment lawyers said.

Despite the career downfall of high-profile men such as Weinstein, CBS CEO Les Moonves and Def Jam founder Russell Simmons following multiple accusations of sexual misconduct, though, questions linger about how effective these steps have been to change Hollywood’s culture.

“The law has remained the same. What’s different is the volume of reporting is just exponentially more,” Elsa Rama, an entertainment lawyer, told TheWrap.

Also Read: #AfterMeToo: 12 Accusers Share What Happened Next, From Firing to More Trauma

“More people are reporting bad behavior and employers are more sensitive to handling it and adhering to the law, whereas before our industry was probably a bit too casual about it,” she added.

And many companies are trying to get ahead of the accusation wave by educating employees about acceptable behavior with mandatory training sessions across departments. Angela Reddock-Wright, a Los Angeles attorney who specializes in sexual harassment and discrimination, estimated that the number of prevention trainings that she gives has increased 50 percent in the last year.

“In light of what’s happening, companies and studios want to make sure they are re-educating their managers and supervisors on what to do when issues of sexual harassment are reported to them,” she said.

Also Read: Lee Daniels and Whitney Cummings Developing #MeToo-Themed Comedy for Amazon

Contracts have also come under focus in the last year. Although sexual harassment was always considered a breach of contracts, experts told TheWrap that legal language that was purposefully broad before #MeToo is now being tightened to provide clearer consequences for cases of sexual harassment and assault.

“[Many contracts] are much more specific in terms of providing a sexual harassment policy that’s curtailed to production setting, having a reporting mechanism that’s very clear, but also having the ability for grounds for termination, as well as what to do with allegations outside the workplace environment,” Rama said.

Another entertainment attorney, who asked not to be named, told TheWrap that the main differences have come at the negotiating table. Whereas agents once had more leeway to negotiate morality clauses out of contracts for talent, studios are now more likely to insist that they remain.

Moreover, the attorney said that morality clauses were previously intended to address criminal convictions and actors going to jail, but now they are getting broadened to include various forms of sexual misconduct that may not require legal outcomes.

Also Read: Sally Field and Jane Fonda, Rebels and Role Models for #MeToo Generation (Guest Blog)

Reddock-Wright said the effectiveness of any policy change is ultimately dependent on people’s willingness to follow it — or not. “So the real question is — if we have had laws and policies against sexual harassment in the workplace for years, why does harassment continue to happen? Why is the #MeToo movement so prevalent?” she said.

“It ultimately comes down to power — those who use their power and influence to exercise control over individuals, and to make individuals believe that if they do not succumb to their sexual propositions, they will not make it in this town,” she said. “Some use their powers for good. Others use them to take advantage of others.”

The advent of the #MeToo movement has raised general awareness of the issue — which has taken down both executives like Weinstein as well as on-camera stars like Kevin Spacey and Louis C.K.

Stars and prominent Hollywood figures like Jessica Chastain, Reese Witherspoon and Shonda Rhimes helped launch the Time’s Up initiative, a fund that aims to support employees who encounter sexual harassment and gender inequality in the workplace.

Also Read: #MeToo Advocate Alyssa Milano Attends Kavanaugh-Ford Hearing

The major Hollywood guilds have also released new guidelines since last fall intended to protect their members from harassment and other abuse — though many are not legally or contractually binding. In April, SAG-AFTRA released a guideline calling on producers to refrain from holding professional meetings in hotel rooms and private residences, and urged actors to avoid high-risk locations as well.

The move came after Weinstein was accused by several women of misconduct inside hotel rooms in cities around the world, from Beverly Hills to New York to Cannes, France. (He has denied any accusation of nonconsensual sex.) These guidelines were contractually adopted by the Network Television Code in July, which SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris described as a “real victory.”

The union is also working to develop rules that will better protect actors during on-screen nudity and sex scenes.

Also Read: Spike Lee, Jeffrey Katzenberg to Be Honored by SAG-AFTRA Foundation

“There’s so much more exposure to your body and there’s more [on-screen] intimacy taking place,” Carteris told TheWrap. “Our conversations actually deal with the whole process of being a performer… and the vulnerabilities you have, and then we’re creating structures around those vulnerabilities.”

Even Carteris admits she does not know whether #MeToo advocates can make lasting change to how Hollywood does business.

“I know there’s been a shift. It’s happening in the audition room, it’s happening on set,” she told TheWrap. “We’re going to have to wait and see if it’s a sustainable shift. Kudos to those people who really recognize that there needs to be a change.”

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At last here’s your Marvel Comics mutant destroyer of worlds, courtesy of the first trailer for the latest “X-Men” film, “Dark Phoenix.” Watch it above.

Set a decade after the events of “X-Men: Apocalypse,” in “Dark Phoenix” the X-Men are now national heroes. But when a solar flare hits them during a rescue mission in space, Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) loses control of her psychic abilities and becomes a terrifying and overwhelming threat.

For those who don’t know, the film is based on the highly celebrated and influential “X-Men” storyline of the same name by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, as detailed in “Uncanny X-Men” #101-108 (1976-1977) and “Uncanny X-Men” #129-138 (1980). In that story, Jean Grey accidentally merges with the Phoenix Force, a cosmic entity that embodies the universal energy of creation and destruction. This gives her vastly enhanced psychic abilities that eventually overwhelm her, transforming her into “Dark Phoenix,” a genocidal force of unimaginable power.

It gets worse from there. Jean leaves earth and ends up destroying a star system to feed her power, which kills billions. (No, really.) This provokes intervention by an alliance of interstellar empires (no, really) who demand she be captured and executed for the good of the universe. After a series of trials, Jean briefly regains her faculties and commits suicide to prevent further destruction.

Of course, comics hardcores know Jean is later revealed to be innocent, and still alive. (No, really.) It turns out that Dark Phoenix had only been impersonating her while she was being healed after a terrible accident, and came to believe it really was her. (It’s weird — look, comics are weird, guys).

It’s unlikely the film will go that far — things look decidedly earthbound, aside from that shuttle mission. But as you can see from the trailer, Jean Grey is still an enormous threat to the “X-Men” universe.

“Dark Phoenix” was previously adapted for television on the 1990s “X-Men” animated series, the 2009 animated series “Wolverine and the X-Men,” and very loosely in the 2006 film “X-Men: The Last Stand.”

This version was written and directed by Simon Kinberg, who also wrote “Last Stand” as well as the two most recent “X-Men” films. “Dark Phoenix” also stars Jessica Chastain, Michael Fassbender, Tye Sheridan, Olivia Munn, James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, Evan Peters and Alexandra Shipp.

It hits theaters on Feb. 14, 2019.

Beatrice Verhoeven contributed to this post.

Newton was originally announced as the director of the action indie, but exited the project after fans resurfaced accusations of domestic abuse made against him.

“Since the announcement of this film, the responses, which are powerful and important, have not fallen on deaf ears. I am profoundly aware that I have a responsibility to lead where I have failed in the past. I can never undo the harm that I’ve caused the people I’ve cared about and I carry that shame and responsibility with me every day,” Newton said in a statement earlier this month, acknowledging his history of addiction and mental health illness.

Also Read: Director Matthew Newton Exits Jessica Chastain Film After Fans Call Out Past Abuse Accusations

In 2007, Newton pleaded guilty to assaulting his ex, Brooke Satchwell, but his conviction was overturned after a psychiatrist said that the filmmaker suffered from depression and was unlikely to re-offend.

But over the next five years, Newton was accused of more assaults, including against another girlfriend, Rachael Taylor.

“Eve” will now serve as reunion for Taylor and Chastain, who is producing the film through her company Freckle Films in addition to starring.

Taylor’s other credits include “The Girl on the Train” and “Get on Up,” as well as the upcoming horror film “Ma,” which will reunite him with another star of “The Help,” Octavia Spencer.

Umberto Gonzalez contributed to this report.

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McAvoy instagrammed the aftermath of his battle with the evil shape-shifting clown (played by Bill Skarsgard) during shooting. According to the post, the result was “two pulled thighs.” The photo shows McAvoy in his chair on set, using “Compresse Froide” (“cold compress” in French — the movie’s shooting in Toronto, which is sorta close to French-speaking Quebec) — to ease the pain.

Love a Compresse Froide . Pulled my thighs fighting pennywise… #oldman #gonnatakehimdowntoclowntown #itmovie???? #it2 #pennywise

A post shared by James Mcavoy (@jamesmcavoyrealdeal) on Aug 17, 2018 at 2:59pm PDT

Also Read: James McAvoy Photos From 'IT: Chapter 2' Suggest More to the Kids' Story

While McAvoy might have lost this go-round with Pennywise, he promised he wasn’t done with the fight against Pennywise via a hashtag: “#gonnatakehimdowntoclowntown.” We assume that, despite Pennywise being a clown, “Clown Town” is a euphemism for a beat-down and not a place he would actually want to go.

In the second movie of the two-part “IT” film adaptation, McAvoy plays the grown-up version Bill Denbrough, played as a kid by Jaeden Lieberher in the first “IT.” Bill is something of the leader of the group of kids known as the “Losers Club,” and he led them down into the sewers beneath Derry, Maine, (Clown Town?) to fight the demonic clown — and they even managed to defeat it.

Given the dirty look of McAvoy’s clothes and the discussion of fighting Pennywise, it’s a fair guess that McAvoy and the rest of the cast were filming what might be the climactic final battle between the Losers Club and their clown arch-nemesis. In the first “IT,” the final fight between the kids and Pennywise took place in a huge, cavernous room beneath the city, but while they hurt the clown, they didn’t manage to kill it before it escaped down a pipe. If the novel (and McAvoy’s clothes in the shot) are any indication, the final fight between the Losers and Pennywise will likely take them even deeper into the earth, to stop Pennywise from escaping a second time.

Just what that final battle will be like is an open question, however. In the Stephen King novel on which the movie is based, Pennywise isn’t the true form of the creature the kids are hunting, but one of its many shapeshifting masks. The real monster looks more like a giant spider, something we haven’t seen yet.

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And then there’s the question of the fight itself. The movie version of the battle with Pennywise in “IT” included some spooky trickery and an emphasis on the kids refusing to be afraid of the clown, which drained its powers, but they still wound up smashing its head with a pipe. The novel battle is different — it’s all mental, with Bill facing down the spider-monster on another plane of existence, beating it with what is basically the pure power of belief. When the adults show up 27 years later, the fight with the spider is pretty similar to that battle.

If McAvoy’s Bill is straining to fight Pennywise (or maybe the spider version of the clown), that suggests a more physical confrontation with the creature than what’s in the novel. That could mean that trying to predict the outcome of “IT: Chapter 2” from the way King’s novel shakes out might be a lost cause. We’ll have to wait for the movie’s release in September 2019 to find out.

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“Since the announcement of this film, the responses, which are powerful and important, have not fallen on deaf ears. I am profoundly aware that I have a responsibility to lead where I have failed in the past. I can never undo the harm that I’ve caused the people I’ve cared about and I carry that shame and responsibility with me every day,” Newton said in a statement Friday morning.

“Over the past eight years I have been working extensively with healthcare professionals to help me overcome my addiction and mental health illness. For the past six years I have lived a quiet and sober life. All I can do now is try to be a living amends and hopefully contribute to the positive change occurring in our industry,” he continued.

Also Read: Fans Ask Jessica Chastain to Drop Director Matthew Newton Over Past Assault Accusations

In 2007, Newton pleaded guilty to assaulting his ex, Brooke Satchwell, but his conviction was overturned after a psychiatrist said that the filmmaker suffered from depression and was unlikely to reoffend. But over the next five years, Newton was accused of more assaults, including against another girlfriend, Rachael Taylor.

Chastain and Newton were announced as the star and director of the upcoming film last week, with Newton directing from a script he wrote. But the decision to hire Newton was quickly met with backlash, with Chastain being included in the criticism for not taking a zero-tolerance approach to abuse as one of the faces of the #MeToo movement.

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In a statement to IndieWire back in February, Newton said he “utterly regrets” his past actions.

“I had a severe problem with substance and alcohol abuse then and for almost six years now I have actively worked every single day, one day at a time, to remain sober and live a clean, upstanding life,” he said.

Chastain’s reps have not responded to TheWrap’s requests for comment since the complaints were made, and the actress has not spoken publicly about Newton on social media.

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Director Matthew Newton Exits Jessica Chastain Film After Fans Call Out Past Abuse Accusations

The Care2 petition, titled “#TimesUp Activist Jessica Chastain Hires Domestic Abuser to Direct New Film,” has garnered more than 6,100 signatures as of this writing. The petition points to Chastain’s record as one of Hollywood’s most vocal advocates of gender equity, and then asks, “Despite all of this, Jessica Chastain wants to give Matthew Newton a pass? We don’t think so. #TimesUp for rich and powerful men being absolved of horrific abuse against women.”

Last week, Chastain was announced as the star of “Eve,” with Newton directing based on a script he wrote. Chastain is also producing. Newton’s other recent credits include “From Nowhere” and “The Sideways Light.”

Also Read: Fans Ask Jessica Chastain to Drop Director Matthew Newton Over Past Assault Accusations

Newton has said his history of mental illness, drugs and drinking are responsible for the charges, and he has repeatedly sought help. He pleaded guilty in 2007 to one count of common assault on his ex, Brooke Satchwell, but the conviction was later overturned after his psychiatrist said he suffered from depression and was unlikely to reoffend. But he faced more assault accusations later, involving then-girlfriend Rachael Taylor.

Given the reversal of the conviction on the common assault charge, it does not appear that he has ever been convicted. He has not had any apparent trouble with the law since 2012, the year he says he became sober. His most recent film, “Who We Are Now,” investigates the possibility and hope of redemption.

In February, when an IndieWire story noted his history, he said in a statement: “As I said in 2011, it is absolutely intolerable to harm women, it is intolerable to harm men, it is intolerable to harm anyone. I had done these things, and I utterly regret it, and I have to live with this responsibility every day. I had a severe problem with substance and alcohol abuse then and for almost six years now I have actively worked every single day, one day at a time, to remain sober and live a clean, upstanding life.”

The announcement of Newton’s hiring drew immediate backlash on Twitter, with fans appearing disappointed that Chastain, who has said the first meeting of #TimesUp was held at her home, wasn’t taking a zero-tolerant policy toward past accusations of abuse.

wow okay so i come back to the news that jessica is working with known abuser matthew newton and let me just say that i have never been so disappointed in my life. i sincerely hope she has some kind of explanation for this or that it’s somehow a mistake…

— ً (@chastainsgadot) August 3, 2018

@jes_chastain Why are you supporting a violent and abusive man like Matthew Newton who has hurt so many ex-girlfriends? Look at his convictions. Read his pathetic excuses. Aren't you meant to be an advocate? Don't you want to stop seeing abusers rewarded?

— Countess (@countess_skanky) August 2, 2018

Chastain’s reps did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the actress has yet to comment publicly on either the petition or the initial social media backlash to Newton’s hiring.

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Newton has said his history of mental illness, drugs and drinking are responsible for the charges, and he has repeatedly sought help. He pleaded guilty in 2007 to one count of common assault on his ex, Brooke Satchwell, but the conviction was later overturned after his psychiatrist said he suffered from depression and was unlikely to reoffend. But he faced more assault accusations later, involving then-girlfriend Rachael Taylor.

Given the reversal of the conviction on the common assault charge, it does not appear that he has ever been convicted. He has not had any apparent trouble with the law since 2012, the year he says he became sober. His most recent film, “Who We Are Now,” investigates the possibility and hope of redemption.

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In February, when an IndieWire story noted his history, he said in a statement: “As I said in 2011, it is absolutely intolerable to harm women, it is intolerable to harm men, it is intolerable to harm anyone. I had done these things, and I utterly regret it, and I have to live with this responsibility every day. I had a severe problem with substance and alcohol abuse then and for almost six years now I have actively worked every single day, one day at a time, to remain sober and live a clean, upstanding life.”

A spokeswoman for Newton declined to comment for this story. A rep for Chastain did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the actress has not responded publicly to fans on Twitter who called for her to cut ties with Newton.

On Wednesday, it was announced that Chastain would star in and produce “Eve,” with Newton directing based on a script he wrote. His other recent credits include “From Nowehere” and “The Sideways Light.”

Newton’s history caught attention on Twitter. One fan wrote, “I just did my research and matthew newton has a long history of domestic violence against women,,,,,, cancelled.” Another commented: “she’s chosen matthew newton to direct??? as in matthew newton who has a long history of domestic violence??? why not a director who’s never assaulted anyone? or a female director? incredibly disappointing.”

Some fans voiced their disappointment that Chastain, who has said the first meeting of #TimesUp was held at her home, wasn’t taking a zero-tolerant policy toward past accusations of abuse.

Newton, the son of Australian media personality Bert Newton and singer Patti Newton, was charged with two counts of common assault, one count of stalk/intimidate with the intent of causing physical/mental harm and assault occasioning actual bodily harm against actress Brooke Satchwell, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The paper said he assaulted and intimidated her on two occasions in 2006 after they broke up.

According to The Daily Telegraph, Newton pleaded guilty to one count of common assault and prosecutors agreed to drop the other charges. In July 2007, the conviction was overturned due in part to a letter from Newton’s psychiatrist that outlined his mental illness and said he was unlikely to offend again, according to The Daily Telegraph.

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But in 2010, Taylor took out an Apprehended Violence Order against Newton, citing what she said were two violent assaults in Rome. The Daily Mail said court documents “revealed at the time that Taylor was allegedly left with injuries consistent with having her head ‘bashed against the floor and walls.'”

“After much consideration and struggle I have made this personal decision to send a clear public message that violence, threats, abuse and intimidation are not acceptable and should be dealt with by the full capacity of the law,” Taylor said in a statement. The actress is perhaps best known for her role as Trish Walker on Netflix’s “Jessica Jones.”

According to the Herald Sun, Newton was charged with assaulting a Sydney taxi driver in December of 2011. In April 2012, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, Newton was arrested in Miami for trespassing and resisting officers. The same outlet reported he was arrested in Miami again in April 2012 and accused of punching a hotel receptionist in the face and resisting arrest. He was charged with simple battery and resisting arrest.

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On April 23, 2012, Newton’s lawyer, Chris Murphy, tweeted: “Can’t cure mental illness with ‘You stop that!’ Bipolar sufferers need patience & support. Matthew Newton has mine. Treatment continues.”

In September 2012, a Sydney magistrate agreed to drop charges in regards to the taxi incident under a national mental health law that makes provisions for people dealing with mental health issues. Newton reported that he had undergone intensive treatment at the Betty Ford rehab clinic to address drug addiction.

In November 2012, the charges were dismissed for the Miami incidents, under the condition that he would pay $11,500 and complete 50 hours of community service, according to News.com.au. He was also ordered to attend an anger management course and write a letter of apology to the hotel clerk that he assaulted.

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Here are some tweets about the situation.

she's chosen matthew newton to direct??? as in matthew newton who has a long history of domestic violence??? why not a director who's never assaulted anyone? or a female director? incredibly disappointing https://t.co/HXAPMYjKPF

— Andrea (@bethwoodvilles) August 2, 2018

Matthew Newton?!?! Wtf why is @jes_chastain working with a man who has so savagely beaten up TWO of his ex-girlfriends?! In Australia he’s well known for being a violent abuser, how is he still allowed to associate with women?

— j a y m e (@pointlesswords) August 2, 2018

wow okay so i come back to the news that jessica is working with known abuser matthew newton and let me just say that i have never been so disappointed in my life. i sincerely hope she has some kind of explanation for this or that it’s somehow a mistake…

— ً (@chastainsgadot) August 3, 2018

@jes_chastain Why are you supporting a violent and abusive man like Matthew Newton who has hurt so many ex-girlfriends? Look at his convictions. Read his pathetic excuses. Aren't you meant to be an advocate? Don't you want to stop seeing abusers rewarded?

— Countess (@countess_skanky) August 2, 2018

Guys…. I just did my research and matthew newton has a long history of domestic violence against women,,,,,, cancelled. https://t.co/be1c7q3HXv

— best of jessica chastain (@bestofchastains) August 2, 2018

So Jessica Chastain was all for Feminism when Zack Snyder dressed his Amazons in JL. Coming for his neck and saying “we miss Patty” ???? But she just hired a convicted domestic abuser who assaulted multiple ex-girlfriends in Matthew Newton. This is one of y’all leaders? pic.twitter.com/3CIYPyS77G

— WorstHeroEver???????? (@WorstHeroEver07) August 3, 2018

The silence from American media about Matthew Newton and Jessica Chastain's casting is deafening. It's literally in a whole section of his Wikipedia.

Would love just one person to question it.@rilaws @jowrotethis @ADuralde @ScottWamplerBMD @AwardsDaily pic.twitter.com/ppju1CsFjC

— The Curb (@TheCurbAU) August 3, 2018

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A photo posted on the film’s Twitter account shows a table read with the actors playing the adult versions of the “Losers Club” – Jessica Chastain (Beverly Marsh), Bill Hader (Richie Tozier), James McAvoy (Bill Denbrough), Jay Ryan (Ben Hanscom), James Ransone (Eddie Kaspbrak), Isaiah Mustafa (Mike Hanlon) and Andy Bean (Stanley Uris).

Back to Derry with these Losers. ????#ITMovie pic.twitter.com/dvg0fEP9Ts

– IT Movie???? (@ITMovieOfficial) July 2, 2018

“IT: Chapter Two,” takes place 27 years after the events of last year’s monster hit, as the members of the “Losers Club” have all grown up and moved out of Derry… until a devastating phone call brings them back.

Also Read: James McAvoy Photos From 'IT: Chapter 2' Suggest More to the Kids' Story

Bill Skarsgard will return as Pennywise the Clown. The film is set to be released September 2019.

“IT” grossed $327.5 million in the U.S. and Canada in 2017, and $700.4 million worldwide, on a $35 million production budget. The film had the No. 1 opening weekend for a fall release and was 2017’s No. 7 highest-grossing movie.

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James McAvoy, who plays the adult version of Losers Club leader Bill Denbrough in “IT: Chapter 2,” posted new photos from working on the movie. The series of Polaroids show him with co-stars Bill Hader, Jessica Chastain and James Ransone. And there’s another photo of co-star Isaiah Mustafa.

Snapped IT. #itmovie #thedisapearanceofthemoviesweshot #itmovie????

A post shared by James Mcavoy (@jamesmcavoyrealdeal) on Jun 28, 2018 at 1:36am PDT

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Most interesting, though, is that one of the photos shows McAvoy with two of the kid stars of “IT”: Jaeden Lieberher, who plays young Bill in the first “IT,” and Jack Dylan Grazer, who plays young Eddie Kaspbrak, the character Ransone is taking on as an adult. The kids’ return to the movie has been rumored, but never announced by filmmakers. Photos of them hanging out with McAvoy and others from the “IT: Chapter 2” cast suggests we might not have seen the end of the kids’ half of the story in “IT,” and that more events from 1989 might pop up in the second part of the series.

If you’re unfamiliar with the story of “IT,” or the Stephen King novel on which it’s based, it covers two key time periods. Without spoilers: The first is when the seven main characters, who call themselves “The Losers Club,” were kids in their home town of Derry, Maine, during a summer in which children are being terrorized by a demonic clown called Pennywise (Bill Skarsgard). The second time period is 27 years later, when the Losers come back together after years apart to deal with the threat to Derry once and for all.

The novel portrays the two time periods side-by-side as a series of memories and flashbacks as the adult Losers head back to Maine, but the film adaptation has split them evenly. Last year’s “IT” covered the portion about the children, which took place in 1989; “IT: Chapter 2” was seemingly just the adult half of the story, set in the present day.

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McAvoy’s photos suggest that, like the book it’s based on, “IT: Chapter 2” might be a bit more fluid with its time periods.

Chastain, who plays the adult version of Beverly Marsh in the second part of the horror hit, also posted a photo on Instagram celebrating her start of filming. The photo shows the transformation of Beverly from child to adult — the left side of the photo is the face of Sophia Lillis, who played Beverly as a child in last year’s “IT,” while the right side is Chastain’s face, Beverly’s grown-up version.

DAY 1 ??” #BeverlyMarsh #ITmovie????

A post shared by Jessica Chastain (@jessicachastain) on Jun 27, 2018 at 5:06pm PDT

“IT: Chapter 2” is currently set to hit theaters in September 2019.

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Bill Denbrough (Jaeden Lieberher): Edward Norton

An essential part of Bill Denbrough is that, as a child, he struggled with a stuttering problem. Jaeden Lieberher did a solid job dealing with the stutter as the leader of the Losers Club. Edward Norton, who has a decent physical resemblance to Lieberher, has proven to be one of the best stutterers possibly ever in his turn in the 1996 thriller “Primal Fear.” When he returns to Derry, the stutter does to, giving Norton a chance to deploy those skills again.

Jaeden Lieberher’s Choice: Christian Bale

During an interview with Moviefone, the “It: Chapter One” cast discussed their picks for who would play their adult counterparts. Lieberher said he’d like for Christian Bale to play the grown-up version of Bill, and Bale is known for taking tough acting roles. He’s got few that might qualify as horror, though, and hasn’t ever had to act scared of a demonic clown or its many other manifestations. But nobody let him wear the 2018 equivalent of 1990 Bill’s ponytail, which one assumes would be a manbun.

Actually playing Bill Denbrough: James McAvoy

Bill’s quiet leadership fits pretty well with James McAvoy’s aesthetic in a lot of movies, especially his recent superhero turn as Professor X in the “X-Men” movies. He can also pull out some deep creepiness, as we saw in the M. Night Shyamalan vehicle “Split,” making McAvoy an interesting choice to fight the evil Pennywise.

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Beverly Marsh (Sophia Lillis): Amy Adams

It’s actually a bit weird how much Sophia Lillis looks like Amy Adams, selling her as the grown-up version of Beverly. Lillis’ turn as Bev was actually a more brave and often heroic version than in the 1990 adaptation, and Adams’ experience as Lois Lane in “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” and as an alien researcher in “Arrival” would probably be valuable.

Sophia Lillis’ Choice: Jessica Chastain

Chastain is also a pretty good look-alike for Lillis, and her work definitely suggests she could handle both being very afraid of an evil clown and gritting her teeth in order to fight it. She’s also got some horror chops, having taken a turn adding creepiness to the situation in Guillermo del Toro’s “Crimson Peak.”

Actually cast as Beverly Marsh: Jessica Chastain

Sophia Lillis obviously knows what she’s talking about when it comes to adult Beverly, since Chastain really is taking on the role.

Ben Hanscom (Jeremy Ray Taylor): Chris Hemsworth

In “It,” the 1990 TV movie adaptation, Ben is an overweight kid but gets in shape in his teens. He comes back as John Ritter, looking pretty good in a vest and beard. The ultimate “grew up to be hot” transformation for “It” would be Chris Hemsworth taking on the role of Ben. It might be overdoing it a little, but it would give Hemsworth a chance to fight some horror movie monsters after getting epicly offed in “Cabin in the Woods.”

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Jeremy Ray Taylor’s Choice: Chris Pratt

Since he actually played the character, Taylor might actually have the better sense for casting here. Pratt transformed his body pretty significantly for his role in Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies. He’d have to resist being the group’s funnyman, though — that’s not Ben, and the role is already filled by Richie.

Actually cast as Ben Hanscom: Jay Ryan

New Zealand native Jay Ryan will take on the role of older Ben, which might not be as cool as becoming Thor, but still a solid glow up for the kid. Ryan is probably best known for his role in “Beauty and the Beast” on the CW, and previously appeared on Sundance TV and BBC 2’s mystery “Top of the Lake.”

Richie Tozier (Finn Wolfhard): Paul Rudd

Jokester Richie Tozier grows up to be a radio disc jockey in King’s novel, famous for doing a variety of voices. In the 1990 adaptation, he’s a stand-up comic, and in both versions he’s pretty successful. Rudd’s a proven comedian with plenty of drama chops as well, and he’s fought at least one monster in his movie career, taking on Michael Myers in “Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers.”

Finn Wolfhard’s Choice: Bill Hader

Bill Hader was actually my first choice too, but Wolfhard stole it. As a “Saturday Night Live” alumnus, Hader can definitely handle Richie’s humor, and he and Wolfhard actually look a lot alike. In fact, Hader is kind of perfect for the role, and it’d be an interesting change of pace to see him outside of a comedy.

Actually cast as Richie Tozier: Bill Hader

Like Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard nailed his casting idea. “SNL” alumnus Bill Hader looks quite a bit like Richie. The novel version of adult Richie wears contacts instead of Coke bottle glasses, but if the movie gave Hader the spectacles, he’d really look like Finn Wolfhard’s grown-up counterpart.

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Mike Hanlon (Chosen Jacobs): Jordan Peele

In the book and 1990 adaptation, Mike Hanlon is the only member of the Losers Club who stays in Derry. He works as a librarian and keeps watch in case Pennywise ever shows back up in town. Mike’s role might change in “It: Chapter Two,” since the historian role he plays in the book fell to Ben in the movie, but Peele could still pull off the bookish but determined version of Hanlon. Plus, Peele’s a major horror fan.

Chosen Jacobs’ Choice: Chadwick Boseman

If the kids from “It: Chapter One” have their way, two Marvel superheroes will show up in the Losers Club, which doesn’t sound very loser-y. That said, Boseman would definitely bring the role the gravitas that Mike needs as the “lighthouse keeper” who’s waiting for the monster, and who manages to reunite the Losers and convince them to keep their promises.

Actually cast as Mike Hanlon: Isaiah Mustafa

Isaiah Mustafa is probably best known for his role as Luke Garroway on Freeform’s “Shadowhunters,” and as the ripped Old Spice Guy who isn’t Terry Crews. Chosen Jacobs announced the casting on his Instagram feed.

Eddie Kaspbrak (Jack Dylan Grazer): David Tennant

In “It,” Eddie is a smaller kid whose mother abuses him for his entire life by constantly trying to make him believe he’s sick. As a skinnier guy, Tennant has a similar physicality, but he’s also proven he can handle the mix of horror and comedy Jack Dylan Grazer brings to the role in the movie with his role in “Fright Night.”

Jack Dylan Grazer’s Choice: Jake Gyllenhaal

Gyllenhaal is also a pretty good fit for Eddie’s future self. He can handle Eddie’s hypochondriac intensity and can handle both the comedy aspects and the horrified freaking out that Grazer brings the character, and it helps that the pair have a similar look.

Actually cast as Eddie Kaspbrak: James Ransone

The real Eddie, James Ransone, brings some horror chops to “IT: Chapter 2.” Ransone has done some monster hunting in the past as the deputy from “Sinister” and “Sinister 2.”

Stan Uris (Wyatt Oleff): Zach Braff

Of all the Losers, Stan Uris has the toughest time dealing with what he’s seen of the creature, and he’s come the closest of any of the kids to death. That’s a bit of neurosis that Braff could definitely handle as he struggles to come to grips with the promise he made and the need to return to Derry.

Wyatt Oleff’s Choice: Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Another good pick from the “It” kids, Gordon-Levitt is definitely someone could handle Stan’s overwhelming fear of Pennywise pretty effectively as an actor. We could also stand to see him back in a horror movie after his stint in “Halloween: H20” back in 1998.

Actually cast as Stan Uris: Andy Bean

Andy Bean is set to take on the role of Stan in “IT: Chapter 2,” and he has some genre chops to bring with him. Bean has had roles in “Allegiant” and “Transformers: The Last Knight,” and also as one of the main cast in the Starz show “Power” for the first three seasons.

Henry Bowers (Nicholas Hamilton): Michael C. Hall

If you thought local bully and homicidal pre-teen Henry Bowers died in “IT: Chapter 1,” you weren’t the only one. Apparently, Henry’s fate is a little more undetermined. If Henry returns for more homicide attempts against the adult losers, we think Michael C. Hall’s turn as a killer in “Dexter” would be useful prep. Hall will need to bring it a great deal more wild-eyed malevolence than he did Dexter, though.

Actually cast as Henry Bowers: Teach Grant

The reason we know Henry survived the events of “IT: Chapter 1” is because Teach Grant will be playing him. Grant is also bringing a lot of horror movie experience to the proceedings, having appeared in “The Tall Man,” “Leprechaun Origins,” and “Devour.” He recently also appeared in Netflix’s sci-fi series “Altered Carbon.”

“A lot of times, people associate activity with the big players spending a lot of money and buying movies for big price tags,” Saban Films President Bill Bromiley told TheWrap from France on Friday.

“That can be a little misleading,” said the executive, whose company brought home five films — more than any other distributor to visit the festival this year.

Also Read: The Cannes - Oscar Connection: How Strong Will It Be This Year?

It was a polarizing year at Cannes, with no shortage of hemming and hawing about the state of affairs in the coastal haven. The headlines and soundbites came in waves saying anything from “Cannes is dead” to “Cannes needs to change” to “Cannes change is here.”  And depending on whom you asked, the market was abysmal or doing just fine.

Still, acquisition news seemed to come fast and furious out of the gate — and included at least two bidding wars that climbed into the eight figures.

And while recent big spenders like Netflix and Amazon were quieter, and The Weinstein Company MIA altogether, several major new players stepped up to make a big splash in acquisitions.

Saban started scoring on day two, taking the Gerard Butler psychological thriller “Keepers” and the Keanu Reeves romantic thriller “Siberia.” The spending spree continued with the ensemble romance “Berlin, I Love You” with Kiera Knightley and Helen Mirren, Nicolas Cage’s “Between Worlds” and the historical action film “Viking Destiny.” 

Also Read: Is the Cannes Film Festival in Decline? Not to the French

Two rich deals came after all-night bidding (a welcome sight after the frigid pace of the market at Sundance): for Karyn Kusama’s follow-up to “The Invitation,” a cult-and-cop thriller starring Nicole Kidman called “Destroyer” that went for a reported eight figures to Megan Ellison’s Annapruna Pictures. It was financed by 30West.

And Universal paid a reported $20 million-plus for North American rights to the star-studded spy caper “355” with Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, Fan Bingbing, Marion Cotillard and Penelope Cruz. The studio beat out several studios for the yet-to-shoot production, including suitor Amazon Studios. Sales rep FilmNation also sold many international territories in million-dollar deals, an individual familiar with the negotiations told TheWrap.

After a splashy showing at February’s Berlin Film Festival, Global Road made good on its promise to be an active player under new boss Rob Friedman. The studio, rebranded and expanded from Open Road, paid an undisclosed amount for rights to a new take on “The Secret Garden” starring Colin Firth and Julie Walters. The film came fully financed from Studiocanal.

There were also a few sacred cows to be had. Magnolia Pictures took Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Shoplifters” only 24 hours before it won the festival’s highest honor, the Palme d’Or.  A24 nabbed Gaspar Noe’s dancing horror fever dream “Climax,” well before it would land him the top honor in the Directors’ Fortnight section. “BlacKkKlansman,” which won Spike Lee the Grand Prix, was presold to Focus.

Focus also scooped up Asghar Farhadi’s opening night film “Everybody Knows,” starring real-life couple Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem. Sony Pictures Classics took the devastating awards hopeful “Capernaum” from director Nadine Labaki. Both deals were a reported low-seven figures.

Bleecker Street won the brutal survival story “Arctic” with Mads Mikkelsen. Tom Quinn’s Neon made its first ever Cannes purchase with the horror tale and Un Certain Regard winner “Border,” from the author of  “Let the Right One In.”

Also Read: 'Shoplifters' Wins Palme d'Or at 2018 Cannes Film Festival

The streaming companies weren’t entirely absent. While Netflix publicly ghosted the festival in April after bylaws were changed to require a French theatrical release for all competition films, Ted Sarandos’ team couldn’t resist buying a bit of prestige.

The streaming giant bought “Happy as Lazzaro,” which premiered in competition and was awarded Best Screenplay for Alice Rohrwacher, as well as Lukas Dhont’s “Girl,” which won the Camera d’Or for best first film and best actor for star Victor Polsterin the Un Certain Regard section.

Amazon Studios brought the rousing period drama “Cold War,” directed by Oscar winner Pawel Pawlikowski, to the competition after acquiring it last summer.

Before the Marche du Film opened, experts warned us the buyers would be cautious. But that doesn’t mean stagnant, Bromiley concluded.

“There are a lot of projects out there, and we had to dig a little deeper this year. That’s been for the past few years, it used to come a lot easier. But the market is very healthy on the domestic side, and obviously our sales reflect that,” he said.

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Stanley was played by Wyatt Oleff in the first “It” movie, which saw a group of kids in Maine get terrorized by the evil clown, Pennywise. The film, which tells the first half of Stephen King’s famous horror novel, ended with all the kids swearing to return as adults when Pennywise comes back to attack their hometown. But as Stanley will soon learn, Pennywise is expecting them.

Bean is know for his roles on “Power,” “Here and Now” and “Allegiant.”

Also Read: James McAvoy, Bill Hader in Talks to Join 'It: Chapter Two'

“It: Chapter Two,” will star James McAvoy, Bill Hader, and Jessica Chastain as the adult versions of Stanley’s friends, Bill, Richie, and Beverly. The kids who starred in the first “It” will also return for flashbacks in “Chapter Two,” including Finn Wolfhard and Jaeden Lieberher. And Pennywise himself, Bill Skarsgard, will be back to reprise his role as the deadly clown made famous by Tim Curry in the 1990 TV miniseries adaptation of King’s book.

Released last September, “It” became the highest grossing horror film of all-time with $700 million grossed worldwide. Director Andy Muschietti and writer Gary Dauberman are also returning to work on “Chapter Two,” which will be released by Warner Bros. and New Line on September 6, 2019. Production is expected to start this summer.

Bean, who was most recently seen in the HBO series “Here and Now,” is repped by TalentWorks and Magnolia Entertainment.

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“Be warned,” Mathilde says of the story she’s going home to write about Bahar’s exploits on the battlefield. “You’re going to be a heroine.”

“We’re all heroines,” says Bahar.

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Is this the “we’re all heroines” edition of the Cannes Film Festival? Well, consider this:

• Husson’s film, one of three movies in the competition directed by women, got what was by most reports the festival’s loudest and longest standing ovation at the end of its gala premiere on Saturday evening.
• That same premiere began with 82 women, ranging from 87-year-old legend Agnes Varda to jury president Cate Blanchett, walking halfway up the steps into the Grand Theatre Lumiere and then stopping, as a protest against the festival’s historic scarcity of women in competition.
• For only the second time in history, the main competition jury is made up of more women than men.
• The biggest bidding war and the biggest deal in the Cannes marketplace so far has been for “355,” a globetrotting female-spy thriller masterminded by Jessica Chastain and starring Chastain, Marion Cotillard, Lupita Nyong’o, Penelope Cruz and Fan Bingbing.
• The biggest news so far has been generated by Saturday’s red-carpet statement read by Blanchett and Agnes Varda, and by an event scheduled to take place on the beach on Monday, at which the French gender equality group 50/50 by 2020 is expected to ask for a gender-parity pledge from Cannes General Delegate Thierry Fremaux and the directors of the Directors’ Fortnight and Critics’ Week sidebars.

The lack of women is often news at Cannes, but this year their absence and their presence is the biggest story of the first six days of the festival. The currents that hit Hollywood in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein revelations and led to Frances McDormand’s impassioned Oscar-night speech have definitely washed up onto the Croisette, and this year’s Cannes, the first in memory without Weinstein’s oversized presence, is at least slightly more inclusive than usual.

Also Read: Cannes' Female Troubles: Women Directors Have Always Been Scarce

We won’t know for at least a year how effective this year’s campaign has been; Fremaux has repeatedly said that he’s in favor of affirmative-action-style provisions to increase the number of women behind the scenes at Cannes, but he’s steadfastly insisted that gender should never be a factor in programming decisions.

And we won’t know if this is the year that only the second woman ever takes home the festival’s top prize, the Palme d’Or. On the heels of Saturday’s “Girls of the Sun” screenings, some observers went so far as to brand Husson the odds-on favorite to follow Jane Campion (“The Piano”) as the only women to win — but that’s certainly a premature statement with 12 of the 21 main-competition films yet to screen as of midday Sunday.

Still to come: Two more films from female directors, Alice Rohrwacher’s “Lazzaro Felice” and Nadine Labaki’s “Capharnaum,” plus new work from esteemed auteurs Hizokazu Kore-eda (“Shoplifters”), Lee Chang-dong (“Burning”), Matteo Garrone (“Dogman”) and the only past Palme winner in the group, Nuri Bilge Ceylan (“The Wild Pear Tree”).

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Also in the wings are the two American directors in competition: Spike Lee with “BlacKkKlansman” and David Robert Mitchell with “Under the Silver Lake.”

That’s a lot left to see – and in addition, it’s entirely possible that “Girls of the Sun,” for all its effectiveness as a piece of cinema, might be too slick and even manipulative for the Cannes jury, however much they might want to honor a female director.

(I’d say it probably has a better chance of winning the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film than the Palme d’Or.)

So by the end of the festival, Cannes 2018 could belong to a different film – maybe a film from a different woman, more likely one from a male director.

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Of the competition films that have screened since the festival opened on Tuesday with Asghar Farhadi’s “Everybody Knows,” the one to receive the most acclaim is probably “Ida” director Pawel Pawlikowski’s austere love story “Cold War,” though Kirill Serebrennikov’s Russian punk(ish) musical “Leto,” Jafar Panahi’s modestly subversive “Three Faces,” Christophe Honore’s AIDS saga “Sorry Angel” and Jean-Luc Godard’s assaultive “The Image Book” all have strong partisans.

So far, though, the biggest discoveries of Cannes ’18 have been in the margins, with films like Lukas Dhont’s affecting transgender teen drama “Girl,” while the biggest buzz has been around transgressive treats like Gaspar Noe’s predictably extreme “Climax” and Ali Abbasi’s troll-sex romp “Borders.”

Still, none of those have had anywhere near enough heat to steal the spotlight from those 82 women standing on the steps of Grand Theatre Lumiere on Saturday. For now, that’s the story of the 71st Cannes Film Festival: All the heroines.

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Saban Films picked up the rights to two movies in the last two days, while Bleecker Street and Netflix (the latter of which backed out of submitting any films for the competition) have also emerged as players in the market.

Jessica Chastain’s female spy thriller “355” sparked a heated bidding war, with Universal emerging as the victor in an eight-figure deal.

Also Read: Cannes Report, Day 3: Women Rule, 'Cold War' Hailed as 'Best Film' Yet

Meanwhile, everyone else is still trying to get that one selfie on the red carpet despite a no-selfie policy — or get another glimpse at jury president Cate Blanchett.

See what everyone talked about during the fourth day at Cannes:

Acquisitions, Acquisitions

May 11 saw the acquisitions of quite a heap of films. Neon acquired the troll love story “Border” following its world premiere at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section, while Bleecker Street picked up the rights to Mads Mikkelsen’s survival drama “Arctic.” The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday night.

Saban Films bought the rights to Keanu Reeves’ “Siberia,” a thriller by director Matthew Ross in the market that also stars Ana Ularu and Molly Ringwald.

Also Read: Netflix Buys Animated Film 'Next Gen' for $30 Million

In what might be the biggest deal so far at Cannes, Netflix picked up the worldwide rights, excluding China, to the animated film “Next Gen” for $30 million.

Netflix pulled out of submitting films to this year’s festival after organizers implemented a new rule that bans any films that don’t have theatrical distribution in France. The streaming company had the option to screen films out of competition — but passed.

Speaking of Saban Films…

Saban Films sure is spending money this year. At the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, Saban bought the North American rights to Craig William Macneill’s “Lizzie,” in partnership with Roadside Attractions.

The distributor has been busy at Cannes as well, having bought Gerard Butler’s “Keepers” on Thursday and Reeves’ “Siberia” on Friday. Saban came to conquer Cannes, that’s for sure.

Jessica Chastain’s ‘355’ Bidding War

Everyone wanted a piece of “355,” Jessica Chastain’s female all-star spy thriller that will also star Lupita Nyong’o, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz and Fan Bingbing. Simon Kinberg (“X-Men; Dark Phoenix”) will direct.

Early Saturday, Universal announced it had acquired U.S. distribution rights to “355” in what the studio said was “a competitive situation” — i.e., a bidding war — believed to be worth eight figures.

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Jean-Luc Godard’s ‘The Image Book’ Debuts

Jean-Luc Godard’s newest film “The Image Book” debuted on Friday at Cannes, and early reviews are as jumbled and convoluted as the film itself seems to be.

“THE IMAGE BOOK: who f—in’ knows,” wrote one critic, while another said, “What do you want me to say?”

TheWrap’s Steve Pond wrote in his review: “‘The Image Book’ requires stamina, or more accurately surrender. (A section of the Grand Theatre Lumiere balcony devoted to press had at least a dozen walkouts during the film.)”

See some tweets about the film below.

THE IMAGE BOOK: who fuckin knows. But here are some nonverbal reviews from those seated near me!

- girl next to me covered ears for long stretches
-man two over checked phone 50, 60, and 65 minutes in
-guy in front of me buzzsaw snored for full minute before someone woke him up

— Charles Bramesco (@intothecrevasse) May 11, 2018

THE IMAGE BOOK: Jean-Luc Godard’s collection of images about trains, war, Arab nations & more – from movies & real footage – w/ narration from Godard, sudden bursts of music & long silences. Some will love, some not, I feel like it will work best as the museum exhibit #Cannes2018 pic.twitter.com/H1mfgMIlcB

— Alicia Malone (@aliciamalone) May 11, 2018

THE IMAGE BOOK: Godard lays out all possibilities of cinema on display in 90 minutes. Now please start making your movie ffs. #cannes2018

— Ken Adams (@TaybackX) May 11, 2018

Just saw THE IMAGE BOOK by JLG. More bellowing at crappy resolution footage from 1950s films and of various imperialist atrocities. What do you want me to say? #cannes2018

— ????Donald Clarke???? (@DonaldClarke63) May 11, 2018

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The film will also star Lupita Nyong’o, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz and Fan Bingbing. Simon Kinberg (“X-Men; Dark Phoenix”) will direct.

The actresses appeared together for a photocall (above) to promote “355” on Thursday from the 71st annual Cannes Film Festival at Majestic Beach Pier.

Also Read: Gerard Butler's 'Keepers' Picked Up by Saban Films

Theresa Rebeck wrote the screenplay based on an original idea by Chastain. Chastain and Kelly Carmichael are producing the ensemble through Chastain’s Freckle Films along with Kinberg under his Kinberg Genre banner.

“355” centers on the five top agents from organizations around the world uniting to stop a global syndicate from acquiring a weapon that could plunge an already unstable world into total chaos. They have to overcome cultural and political differences to form a bond and work together.

“I had so much fun working on ‘The Help’ that I always wanted to do another female ensemble film,” Chastain told Deadline. “I love the ‘Bourne’ movies, the ‘Mission: Impossible’ films, and wondered why, except for ‘Charlie’s Angels,’ there hadn’t been a true female ensemble action-thriller spy film. That got my wheels going, along with the idea of casting actresses from all over the world to truly make it an international project.

Also Read: Gerard Butler's 'Keepers' Picked Up by Saban Films

The Oscar-nominated actress added, “Agent 355 was the code name of a female spy during the American Revolution. She was one of the very first spies for the United States, and her identity is still unknown. For a lot of women who work in the CIA and other organizations like that, Code 355 is a universal slang term for female spy. It’s the invisible woman who was never named.”

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FilmNation Entertainment and CAA Media Finance Group repped the project in the deal.

Deadline first reported the news about the French acquisition.

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