In a cue taken from recent Hollywood film adaptations of books, the famous Stephen King novel "It" will be remade as a two-part film. The novel was previously a made-for-TV movie that aired on ABC in 1990 and featured the acting talents of Tim Curry, John Ritter, Annette O'Toole and Seth Green.

The latest news on the project, as reported by Variety, is the casting of the infamous killer clown Pennywise. Sources close to Variety have confirmed that Will Poulter ("We're the Millers," "The Maze Runner") is in negotiations to play the child-killing clown with New Line Cinema and Cary Fukunaga.

Fukunaga has written the screenplay for the project and will also direct the film. His credits include "True Detective," "Jane Eyre" and "Sin Nombre."

As noted on Inquisitr, the original story, which centers around a group of kids in 1958 who have been bullied and tormented by a local thug and his gang, end up in the barrens of Derry, Maine where they all play and build things together, which includes a dam that backs up the sewer in town.

The kids delve further into the barrens and the sewer system for sanctuary, where they encounter the ominous monster that is dressed like a clown to lure children in and kill them. They quickly figure out he is the one who killed the younger brother of one of their own and set out on a plan to defeat the monster, which they do successfully.

The story then takes a 30-year leap and the monster is back, while the kids have all grown up and moved on with their lives, even having no memory of the events they encountered back in Derry. But when they are called and hear "It" has returned, their memories resurface. They all come back for one final showdown with the monster.

New Line wanted to cast the part for a younger man. Poulter, 22, had given a chilling performance in the movie "The Revenant," which also starred Leonardo DiCaprio, according to Variety.

New Line and Fukanaga have said they intend for the two films to take place in the two different time periods, which are extensively outlined in the King novel.