Naturally, when you're adapting a 1000+ page book into a standalone film, some things are going to get the ax. It's par for the course, to be expected. In the case of IT, one of Stephen King's most beloved novels, fans are especially keen to know what's getting the cut. For one thing, as you probably already know, the first film is solely focused on the adventures of the Losers Club as kids, with the adult narrative planned to follow in a second film. That means there's a lot of dividing on the table -- what ends up in the first film and what ends up in the second. Not to mention how much of the mythology has a role to play at all.

Here's what we know. The grand cosmic mythology in King's book doesn't feature in Andy Muschietti's adaptation. We also know that a certain pre-teen sewer orgy is getting the cut (obviously). In terms of It's status as a historical force of carnage, that's something we'll have to wait to see in the sequel.

it-movie-pennywise
Image via Warner Bros. / New Line Cinema

Last summer I joined a group of journalists on the set of IT, where I observed filming and got to speak with the creative team about their vision for the film. While we were there, we had an extensive chat with producer Barbara Muschietti, who told us that you won't necessarily see It's historical acts of evil played out, instead "you are going to feel it because some of the manifestations of the fear are represented by the historical elements." However, she did give details on one specific sequence which will not appear in the first film, but may well just open the sequel.

Naturally, we had plenty of questions about how the film evolved from Cary Fukunaga and Chase Palmer's early draft. When Barbara Muschietti was asked about a rumored scene in their film depicting the massacre at The Black Spot, she replied:

"They were able to [incorporate it into the script], but they were not able to incorporate it into the budget. Just like we weren't able to, but it's going on the second...that sequence with the Black Spot, we think it's gonna be a great opening for the next film."

But we all knew that a lot would be trimmed from King's epic novel for a feature adaptation. Perhaps more interesting are the scenes that director Andy Muschietti wanted to film but had to cut for budgetary reasons.

He explained:

"There are two sequences that I thought of that I had to postpone until more money comes. One is a flashback, that sort of portrays the first encounter of It and humans, which is an amazing scene. And the other is a dream, where Bill sees— he’s leaning on a bridge, in Derry, and he’s spitting on the Kenduskeag Stream, and suddenly he sees the reflection of a balloon. And he looks up and it’s not one balloon, but a bunch of balloons, and then he starts to see body parts, and the shot goes wider and it’s a multitude of dead kids floating. I couldn’t afford it."

Both of these sound cool, but the latter sounds more like a visual construct while It's first interaction with the human race is something I'd really love to see. What do you guys think? Sound off in the comments with what you hope we'll see, what you hope got cut, and what you want in the sequel.

Be sure to check out the brand-spankin-new IT trailer and for more of our coverage from the IT set visit, check out the links below and stay tuned for the full interviews:

it-movie-pennywise-losers
Image via New Line Cinema
it-movie-pennywise-image-3
Image via Warner Bros. / New Line Cinema
it-movie-pennywise-image-2
Image via New Line Cinema