The 2017 adaptation of Stephen King's "IT" by Andy Muschietti was a genuine cultural phenomenon, re-invigorating interest in King's work and paving the way for a sequel in 2019. The two films were both wildly successful at the box office, and King himself even joined the fun with a cameo in "Chapter Two." But it wasn't just a Stan Lee-style "blink and you'll miss it" Easter egg cameo, with King popping up and saying a single line. King has a proper scene, and it's more meaningful than you might think. Here's why Stephen King had the perfect cameo in "IT Chapter Two."
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00:00 "Hiya Georgie. What a nice boat."
00:06 It became a cultural phenomenon when it hit theaters in 2017. It reinvigorated Hollywood's
00:12 interest in Stephen King's work and naturally paved the way for a sequel, 2019's It Chapter
00:18 2. It also created a very unlikely $1 billion franchise in the process, cementing itself
00:23 in the box office history books.
00:25 "Daisy, Daisy, beautiful fear."
00:32 What viewers not familiar with King's work may not have noticed is that the author himself
00:36 actually has a pretty hefty cameo in It Chapter 2. This is not merely a blink-and-you'll-miss-it
00:41 moment like some of Stan Lee's cameos in the Marvel films. This is a full-blown scene that
00:46 allows King to choose some scenery and take a victory lap. But there's more going on here
00:50 than meets the eye.
00:51 The scene takes place well into It Chapter 2, with the reunited adult members of the
00:55 Losers Club attempting to perform the Ritual of Chud so that they can vanquish Pennywise
01:00 for good. This involves each member of the group finding a totem, which is an important
01:04 item from their childhood that contains some significance. Bill comes across his trusty
01:08 old bike in a secondhand shop's window. When he walks inside, clearly stricken with good
01:13 memories, he then asks the shopkeeper about the bike, and the man who runs the shop is
01:17 none other than Stephen King. The shop owner recognizes Bill, who is now a famous horror
01:23 writer, and they proceed to bargain over the price after he takes a potshot at Bill's inability
01:27 to write good endings.
01:28 "You, uh, want me to sign it for you?"
01:31 "Nah, I didn't like the ending."
01:33 It's a humorous scene that helps to add some levity before the film's final act, but it's
01:37 also a pretty big showcase for King, as he gets to chew the scenery a bit in a blockbuster
01:42 sequel based on one of his most famous books. It's a nice tribute to the man who made this
01:46 all possible, but there's a little more to it than that. King is one of the most successful
01:51 and prolific authors of all time, and for decades now, he has churned out hit after
01:56 hit, classic after classic. To say that his track record is impressive would be an understatement.
02:01 Yet his run in Hollywood has been a huge mixed bag. Many of the movies based on his works
02:06 were modestly successful at best. Even the most successful of his adaptations, The Shining,
02:11 diverted heavily from the source material, and was a pretty big disappointment for King
02:15 personally. So when it hit theaters in 2017 and was met with critical praise on its way
02:20 to a record-shattering $700 million at the box office, it was pretty momentous. And this
02:26 movie had the added benefit of King's approval. He has gone on record saying that he was a
02:30 fan of what director Andy Muschietti did, and this role serves as a big victory for
02:35 a man who has had such influence over pop culture for so many years.
02:39 It would have been very easy to just have King walk by in the background or have him
02:43 deliver a quick line. The fact that he gets to have a fun, reasonably lengthy scene that
02:47 has influence over the film's outcome is a big tip of the cap to the man who created
02:51 this beloved story. It was the right thing to do, and the movie is all the better for
02:55 it.
02:56 "I am now in my mind writing my Oscar acceptance speech."
03:00 However, there is another crucial wink and nod going on in this cameo. As many readers
03:05 of King's work have noted over the years, his endings often don't live up to the book
03:09 itself. Sometimes they just fall flat. In other cases, they just go completely off the
03:14 rails. It is a perfectly fine example, with the whole gargantuan book culminating with
03:19 a giant alien spider that is defeated by having its heart destroyed.
03:23 There is also the matter of straight-up blowing up the Overlook Hotel at the end of The Shining,
03:28 which is wildly different from what Kubrick did in his movie adaptation. Taking that into
03:32 account, the fact that this meaty cameo sees King playing a character who is criticizing
03:37 an author's work — in particular, his endings — is pretty meta. It adds even further meaning
03:42 to King's participation onscreen in the film, and serves as an acknowledgment from the author
03:46 to his critics.
03:48 King took to Twitter in 2019 and addressed the sentiment head-on, without mincing words.
03:52 Of course, for years, some people have told me I don't know how to end a story. I call
03:56 b---- on that, but everyone has an opinion. Looking at that tweet, the scene becomes even
04:01 more magnified in the larger context of any conversation that can be had about King's
04:05 work. The man clearly doesn't feel that the criticisms of his work are all that valid,
04:09 which makes this scene pretty tongue-in-cheek. King knows this is an ongoing thing, and he
04:14 chooses not to let it affect his work. Nonetheless, he's more than happy to acknowledge it for
04:18 the sake of cinema.
04:19 "I think it's a good thing that people are still watching the movie, because it's a good
04:20 thing that people are still watching the movie, because it's a good thing that people are
04:21 still watching the movie, because it's a good thing that people are still watching the movie,
04:22 because it's a good thing that people are still watching the movie, because it's a good thing
04:23 that people are still watching the movie, because it's a good thing that people are still watching