10 Things You'll Only Notice in the It Remake If You Read the Book

One major difference from the book is the total exclusion of what is known as the Macroverse. It's basically the alternate dimension where It actually lives. When Bill goes to the Macroverse, he meets a giant, ancient turtle named Maturin (yes, really). Maturin is the creator of the universe, and also gives Bill advice on how to defeat It.

Right before Bill sees Georgie's ghost in his home, he goes to Georgie's room and picks up a little Lego creation that's shaped like a turtle. It's surely a hidden reference to Maturin. The Losers also talk about seeing a turtle underwater when they're swimming together!

While the Losers are knee-deep in their sewer fight with Pennywise, we see a whole barrage of crazy forms that It can take. This is because It is surrounded by children, so It's trying to capture all their different fears at once. If you pay close attention, you can also see a couple of giant spider legs jut out and dig into the ground.

This is a nod to It's final form, which is a gigantic, hairy female spider. At least, that's how the Losers Club perceives It once all the other forms are stripped away. While we don't get to see this terrifying form in all its glory, you can bet a giant spider is coming in the sequel.

One of It's most infamous forms has been left out of the film almost entirely. In the book, Richie is actually terrified of horror-movie werewolves rather than just clowns. Then, while the Losers are in the Neibolt Street house, It becomes a werewolf in a letterman jacket.

There's a moment in the film when it almost looks like we're going to see this version of the monster. We see claws coming out of the clown gloves, and It's mouth seems to stretch like it's turning into a snout. Sadly, the Losers force It to retreat before we can see the fully formed wolf.

While Richie is trapped in that awful clown room upstairs, he comes face to face with Pennywise. Just before It jumps off the casket and lunges, It says, "Beep beep, Richie." In the novel, the other Losers say this to Richie quite a bit. Since he's so obviously the loudmouth of the group, "beep beep" is a way of telling him he's crossing a line. It basically means, "Joke's over, Richie." The fact that Pennywise says it is a fun call-out.

In the novel, Pennywise the Dancing Clown actually has a few different names. One of them is Robert "Bob" Gray; it's kind of like the "real name" of the original Pennywise. If you look close enough, you can see a bottle of "Bob Gray" laying around the Neibolt House in the 2017 remake.

A few times during the film, we hear Bill muttering, "He thrusts his fists against the post." Pennywise even murmurs it just before his final blows from the Losers Club. In the books, this is actually an important phrase for Bill and a huge part of defeating Pennywise.

The full phrase is, "He thrusts his fists against the post, and still insists he sees the ghost." It's supposed to rid Bill of his stutter. If you're familiar with the book, you'll also know that Bill is the one who ultimately defeats It. Using something called the "Ritual of Chüd," Bill basically challenges Pennywise to a battle of wits in a different dimension. This little tongue-twister is part of what he uses to win.

In the film, Mike has lost his parents in a terrible fire. He even describes his horrifying memory of watching them burn alive. The book actually has a very similar event that ties into the town of Derry's dark history. One of It's feeding cycles comes with the burning of the Black Spot. The Black Spot was a bar that was frequented by a large quantity of black soldiers from a nearby army base. In the books, a group of white supremacists locks all the patrons inside and burns the building to the ground. So, basically, Mike's tweaked story in the film co-opts that event.

At one point in the remake, Pennywise forces Beverly to stare down his gaping throat. She sees a bunch of weird, floating orange lights and falls into a catatonic trance. In the novel, this is the exact description used to depict what is known as "deadlights." They are a kind of dark magic that represent It's true form.

At a couple points during the 2017 remake, you'll notice that the camera zooms in and lingers on Bill's bike. It seems to be named "Silver." That's definitely the name of the bike in the book. What's more, it plays a crucial role in saving Bill's wife, Audra, when they're adults.

In the book and in the film, It awakens approximately every 27 years to feed. The It miniseries was released in 1990. And, well, guess what? Almost exactly 27 years later, the remake is here. How's that for creepy?