You Definitely Missed These Two Tiny, Horrifying Details In 'It'

The most terrifying movie of the year is finally here, and I don't know whether to be happy or upset about that. The new remake of It perfectly translates the nightmare-inducing horror of the 1986 Stephen King novel into 2017, but you might have been too busy screaming or covering your eyes to pick up on all the intricacies of the new film. Though 2017's It made various efforts to distinguish itself from previous iterations, the new movie also included some slick winks to King's popular story. In particular, there are a couple of It Easter eggs you might have totally missed in the new movie that make the story even richer... and more horrifying.

One of these Easter eggs actually hints at how the sequel will probably begin. That's right — the It team is already working on a sequel to the freshly released horror flick, which will most likely take place after another 27 years have passed and It is due for a return to Derry, Maine. At the end of the movie, the Losers hold hands in a circle and promise one another that they will come back to Derry if It returns to terrorize their town again, but a closer look at the circle actually reveals not everyone will make it to the second round of facing off against It.

The order in which each Loser breaks off from the promise circle is actually a subtle nod to the order in which they die off in King's original story — poor Stan is the first one to let go of his friends' hands, and seals his fate as the first of the Losers to die. When It does return in the second part of King's novel, Stan chooses to kill himself rather than go up against the inter-dimensional evil again. And Eddie, who is the next Loser to break the circle at the end of the movie, winds up dead after their second battle with It. Of course, the new film franchise is free to take liberties with the original story, but this little moment in the circle seems to suggest the sequel won't be changing the order in which the kids die.

The other sly reference to King's work comes in two moments that viewers of the new movie may have dismissed as unimportant. Towards the beginning of the movie, Ben happens upon a turtle while playing in the lake. Turtles come up again later when Bill picks up a turtle made of Legos in Georgie's room before dropping it when he hears a noise from outside. Though it's not explained in the new movie, the turtle is actually a hugely important symbol in the original It book as well as King's other books exploring his created mythology. In the book, the Losers get advice on how to defeat It from the mythical turtle god Maturin. The new movie clearly didn't want to lose the audience by diving too deeply into King's confusing mythology too early, so instead of including Maturin itself, the film settled for just a couple of winks to fans who are familiar with the character. Maybe the turtle god will show up in the sequel.

These are just a couple of the interesting ways the new It paid homage to Stephen King and also the first adapted miniseries starring Tim Curry as the demonic Pennywise, but there are a bunch more for eagle-eyed viewers to pick up on. For instance, the Paul Bunyon statue that comes to life in the book can be seen in the background of the movie, and Eddie wears a killer car T-shirt that looks to be a reference to King's novel Christine. If you were too busy covering your eyes the first time you saw It, the new flick might be worth a second viewing to see if you can pick up on more Easter eggs.