One of the weirder elements of Stephen King's IT is the 'Turtle', a mysterious figure who offers advice to the Losers Club that helps them defeat Pennywise back in the 1960s.
The character was omitted from the 1990 miniseries, and was only referenced via subtle Easter eggs in the new movie.
But despite director Andy Muschietti claiming that he was "never too crazy about the mythology" in IT, the character will apparently play an important role in his sequel, IT Chapter 2.
"The moment you introduce the element of IT, which is an interdimensional evil entity, the presence of the turtle comes with it, as a counterbalance," he told Syfy Wire. "It doesn't seem to pay a big role, but the turtle is there.
"Like all mythologies, there's a god of good and a god of evil. I didn't want to use it as a fantastic character, but it's hinted, every time the kids are in danger or something, I wanted to hint at the presence of the turtle. It might have a bigger role in the second one."
In the book, the Turtle is said to be dead by the second half (set 27 years after the Losers' Club were kids), but Muschietti said that he plays to mix that up a bit.
"In the book, they somehow address the turtle and say 'the turtle couldn't help us'," he said. "But I think in the second part, the turtle will try to help them.
"In the second movie, the turtle left a few clues to their childhood that they don't remember. They have to retrieve those memories from the summer of 1989, and that's how we jump back to 1989. The keys to defeating to Pennywise are left in the past, and as adults, they don't remember."
The Turtle's presence was felt in Chapter 1 as a Lego model Mike finds in Georgie's room and a real life turtle that brushes past the kids as they swim in the quarry. Whether the Turtle will appear in a more concrete form in the upcoming sequel remains to be seen.
IT is now in cinemas in the UK and US.
