The One ‘It’ Scene That Was Too ‘Disturbing’ To Make The Final Cut

It has broken numerous box office records: highest-grossing rated-R horror movie; highest-grossing Stephen King adaptation; highest-grossing opening weekend for a movie released in September. But there’s one important record it won’t top: highest-grossing movie where a clown eats a baby.

Last month, It star Bill Skarsgard casually mentioned a scene that was deleted from the final cut. “There was a scene we shot that was a flashback from the 1600s, before Pennywise [was Pennywise],” he said. “The scene turned out really, really disturbing. And I’m not the clown. I look more like myself. It’s very disturbing, and sort of a backstory for what It is, or where Pennywise came from. That might be something worth exploring in the second one. The idea is the ‘It’ entity was dormant for thousands and thousands of years. The [flashback] hints on that.” Skarsgard never specifically said what happened in the “disturbing” scene, but because the original script for the film is floating around the internet, we can probably guess what he’s referring to.

Bloody Disgusting has the script, but here’s the relevant passage (the “she” is Abigail, a devil-fearing mother from the 1600s):

She’s shaking, doesn’t want to let go. Behind her, the Door OPENS. A Little Boy, 6, asks — BOY: Mama ABIGAIL: NO! OUT! NOW! Frightened by his mother, the Boy runs. Abigail turns back to Pennywise. Wherever he may be now in the room. The light somehow seems to spin faster now. She kisses her baby and sets it down. It BAWLS. ABIGAIL: I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…

She turns away from the baby. Faces those dying embers. We keep on her face as they seem to begin GLOWING BRIGHTER AS — OVER HER SHOULDER — OUT OF FOCUS — Pennywise crawls over to the Baby and starts to feast. SHARP CRY FROM THE BABY CUT OFF as we hear a CRUNCH. Abigail continues to look into the BRIGHT ORANGE GLOW of not the flickering fire… but the DEADLIGHTS. Her expression changing. Fear. Denial. Grief. Acceptance. And then nothing. Just a glazed look.

Welp. Still not as uncomfortable as the orgy scene, though.