Everything 'It Chapter Two' Changed From The Book

Richie's love life gets little focus in the novel. It mentions he had a wife briefly, then divorced after a few years. The movie strongly suggests Richie is gay and might like Eddie Kaspbrak, another Losers' Club member.

Pennywise knows Richie's secret. It taunts him, pointing out being outed is Richie's biggest fear.

The adult Mike Hanlon spends time convincing the Losers to return to Derry in the novel, then helping them recall the 1957 summer. Mike does not enter the sewers to fight Pennywise as an adult; Henry Bowers gets him hospitalized instead.

The movie shows Mike in the lair with the group. Mike plays an active part in defeating the monster.

In the book, a major storm hits Derry as the Losers fight Pennywise. Defeating It ruins much of the city: a standpipe rolls down a hill, destroying homes, the city floods, the mall has explosions, and a sinkhole opens in town, allowing the Losers to escape.

The movie's ending keeps Derry unharmed, even though the confrontation with the shape-shifting clown was intense.

Both the book and movie show Stan Uris passing early. Stan, the quiet, clean member of the Losers’ Club, kills himself in the book only because he fears returning to Derry and Pennywise.

The movie's ending shows Stan took his own life on purpose so the Losers could complete their task against Pennywise.

Henry Bowers, the Losers’ Club’s constant enemy, escapes his asylum with Pennywise's help in both the book and the film. He targets several Losers in both versions. The book shows Henry getting ahead of Mike, hitting him hard enough to send him to the hospital. Henry then goes to the Derry Town House, finds Eddie’s room, and breaks his arm—a repeat of Eddie’s broken arm from fighting Pennywise as kids—before Eddie kills Henry with a broken bottle.

In the movie, Henry strikes Eddie first, jabbing his cheek instead of breaking his arm, then escapes. Henry targets Mike second, but Richie kills him before Henry causes much damage.

The movie version ofIt Chapter TwoThe movie version of It Chapter Two emphasizes the Losers must find personal past totems while wandering town. They use these totems in the Ritual of Chüd to seal Pennywise away.

The book has no totems. After meeting at the Jade of the Orient restaurant, Mike tells the Losers to walk the town alone to help them get their 1957 summer memories back.

Pennywise's ancient fall to Earth millions of years ago stays mostly the same between the book and film. The main shift involves who sees it happen and how. The movie shows Mike met a Native tribe outside town. They gave him a vision of Pennywise's arrival through a hallucinatory root. Mike gives that root to Bill after he reaches Derry to show him the same vision. This helps Bill understand what needs to happen.

The book shows the Losers seeing Pennywise's arrival as kids. They plan to turn their clubhouse into a temporary smoke hut to try and conjure a vision. Everyone starts in the hut, but almost no one gets a vision. Only Mike and Richie stay long enough to see how the monster first arrived in Derry.

This is a small change that makes sense with the modern story. The book shows Richie as a successful radio DJ in LA. He turned his ability for "voices" and impressions into decent fame.

The movie shows Richie as a stand-up comedian. He becomes successful enough to get recognized in restaurants sometimes.

Eddie's career changed for the film. This likely happened because it would be harder for him to succeed believably in the modern age with his book version. In the novel, Eddie runs a successful limo service in New York. This builds on Eddie's natural sense of direction and ability to find his way, which the Losers use when they move through the sewers beneath Derry.

In the novel, Eddie works in risk assessment. The text barely mentions his powerful sense of direction.

Bill's wife Audra and Bev's husband Tom appear in "It Chapter Two"."It Chapter Two"Bill's wife Audra and Bev's husband Tom appear in "It Chapter Two", but their roles are much smaller. They only show up before the Losers return to Derry.

In the book, both Audra and Tom come to Derry looking for their spouses. Pennywise tricks Tom into kidnapping Audra and bringing her into the sewers. She gets a long look at the deadlights and becomes catatonic for weeks.

The movie version of "It Chapter Two""It Chapter Two"The film ends better than the book. The movie shows a call between Bill and Mike as Mike prepares to leave Derry permanently. Bill asks Mike why he remembers what happened in their hometown. Bill asks why their memories are not fading this time. Mike suggests they have more to remember.

In the book, after the Losers defeat Pennywise and return to their lives, they start forgetting what happened in Derry. This includes the names and faces of their friends. The words in Mike's journal about Pennywise and the aftermath fade from his notebook. The Losers save the town; all they lost were the memories of their youth and childhood friends.

Fans asked how weird and cosmic the film adaptation of the story would become. The novel shows the Losers finally get help from a force called the Turtle. The Turtle has been It's enemy for millions of years. Some hint he made the universe by vomiting it out from a stomachache.

Aside from a couple of quick turtle mentions inIt Chapter TwoThe Turtle does not appear in the film version to help the Losers, even in relation to its predecessor.