Bill Hader says 'It Chapter Two' Is an Epic Horror Film That Feels Like 'Lord of the Rings'

As anticipation builds for the upcoming sequel to the 2017 blockbuster film It, Bill Hader says It Chapter Two will be “massive” and “epic” in scope compared to the first one.

Which of course is a feat unto itself, as the first film grossed over $700 million, but Hader recently told IndieWire that he had seen “a good chunk” of the sequel and compared it’s grandiosity to the epic fantasy film, Lord of the Rings.

“[Director] Andy Muschetti played me scenes, and just the scope of it is so big,” Hader said. “It’s bigger than the first one. […] It’s an epic horror film. It feels like Lord of the Rings or something — just, ‘Whoa! This is cool!’”

Describing the sequel’s production as “massive,” Hader added that he’s “never seen so many sets” for one film. “It was like being in The Goonies,” he continued. “And then talking to the younger kids, ‘Did you guys just have the best time ever doing this?’”

Perhaps due to the massive success of part one, the 41-year-old Barry star said Muschetti was not forced to “compromise on anything visually.”

“He does a lot of takes,” Hader revealed of Muschetti. “He has a clear idea of how he wants it, and he’ll just keep going until he gets it. It was nice seeing the finished product and seeing it pay off in ways. It was cool. He’s a real visionary guy — and he’s a sweetheart.”

A film of this size and scope would not be complete without the requisite daredevil stunt work, which Hader says many of the sequel’s actors did themselves.

“Everyone did their own stunts on this movie,” he said. “James McAvoy is jumping off 10-foot tall things, and PJ Ransone, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, all these people are doing really cool stunts. Jessica [Chastain] is doing all this crazy stuff — I had to run 10 feet, and I pulled my groin muscle.”

Hader revealed that despite sustaining an injury, his first instinct was to walk it off, but Muschetti showed genuine concern and insisted they call in his stunt double.

“He was so concerned,” Hader said of Muschetti. “I’ve worked with directors who are like, ‘Oh, well, go sit down. We’ll bring you back in a second’ — because they’re so into what they’re doing. Andy stopped everything, and was like, ‘Let’s get a doctor.’ It felt very genuine.”

Hader’s It: Chapter Two costar, Jessica Chastain, had previously told IndieWire that one of the film’s scenes features more fake blood than any other film in cinematic history.

“There was a lot of dirt,” Hader said. “At the end of every day, you’d just have crap all over you — dirt, tons of fake blood, sweat, and all that stuff. And to get it off of you, they’d put shaving cream on you. They’d put shaving cream on your arms, your legs, your face, your neck, your ears. They’d just douse you with old school shaving cream, [that] has some chemical in it that cleans the stuff off better than anything. It was actually really comforting at the end of the day.”

It: Chapter Two hits theaters on Sept. 6.