“True Detective” Season 1 director Cary Fukunaga departed the forthcoming re-adaptation of Stephen King's “It” in May for a variety of alleged reasons, and in a new interview with EW the filmmaker spoke out for the first time about why he decided to part ways with the project. While the “Jane Eyre” director didn't get specific (issues over budget, location and casting were rumored to play a role in his exit), the project was clearly a labor of love for the filmmaker, who did an extensive amount of work on the script with co-writer Chase Palmer.
“It”s never easy,” Fukunaga told EW. “Chase and I had been working on that script for probably three years. There was a lot of our childhood and our experience in it. …Ultimately, we and New Line have to agree on the kind of movie we want to make, and we just wanted to make different movies. It”s like a relationship: you can try to make the other person who you want them to be, but it”s impossible really to change. You just have to work.”
Despite Fukunaga's exit, the project is still very much alive at New Line, with “Mama” director Andres Muschietti (a protege of Guillermo del Toro) signing on to helm the remake just last month. Fukunaga, meanwhile, is currently out ramping up for the release of his latest film “Beasts of No Nation” starring Idris Elba. There's no word on whether “We're the Millers” star Will Poulter, the 22-year-old actor who was cast as Pennywise shortly before Fukunaga's departure, is still on board to star in this new iteration.