‘IT’ Star Recalls Meeting Adult Counterpart on the Set of ‘IT: Chapter Two’

In the sequel to last year’s IT, the young characters’ futures will be explored, with the film revisiting the Losers’ Club 27 years after the events of the original film. While Chosen Jacobs played Mike Hanlon in the 2017 movie, Isaiah Mustafa will play the character in next year’s IT: Chapter Two. Jacobs detailed the experience of meeting his adult counterpart and how the two collaborated on bringing the character to life.

“We met the older cast, and they did such a phenomenal job with casting for each role. Seeing everyone in person, it’s so accurate. Especially for me. I felt like Isaiah is the perfect match for Older Mike Hanlon,” Jacobs shared with ComicBook.com. “It was an awesome thing, and we collaborated. He asked me questions on, ‘Okay, how do you think about this?’ and ‘How do you think Mike would play this?’ And I just sat down, gave him my embodiment of it. I trust him as an actor to make his own decisions as Mike Hanlon, but then just giving him how I viewed Mike, and just giving him little pointers of how I think Mike would act. With his skill level as an actor, he’ll run with that. I have total faith in all of our older versions to just kill the roles. But meeting him in person did give me a lot of peace and solace that the film was in good hands.”

In Stephen King‘s original novel, the storyline focuses on the adult characters and their present, incorporating flashbacks of how the Losers’ Club came together to confront an evil presence in their small town of Derry, Maine. In 1990, the storyline was adapted into a mini-series, which also utilized this fractured timeline.

Director Andy Muschietti opted to go a different route with his adaptation, using the first film to focus specifically on the young characters so that audiences connect with them emotionally, hopefully resulting in the upcoming sequel’s dire situations resonating with viewers.

The young cast members had regularly shared their picks for who they’d like to see play the adult version of their characters, with Jacobs revealing the unexpected connection between himself and Mustafa.

“It’s kind of a funny story. He actually told me this when we first met,” Jacobs recalled. “He said his last name is ‘Mustafa,’ right? And Mustafa means ‘chosen’ in … I don’t know what the language was, but that was kind of a crazy thing.”

The film also stars James McAvoy as Bill, Jessica Chastain as Beverly, Bill Hader as Richie, Andy Bean as Stanley, Jay Ryan as Ben, and James Ransone as Eddie. Bill Skarsgard will return to play Pennywise the Dancing Clown.

Jacobs can be seen in upcoming episodes of the Stephen King-inspired Hulu series Castle Rock, which debuts new episodes on Wednesdays. IT: Chapter Two hits theaters on September 6, 2019.

Do you think Mustafa is a good choice for the adult Mike Hanlon? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!