The original source material for It—a story about a group of kids terrorised by a mysterious entity that shape shifts into their biggest fears—has a deep and complex mythology that the film only hints at.

In Stephen King's book, an ancient turtle named Mataurin, who created the universe, gives those kids, known collectively as the Losers Club, the information to defeat It during a psychic ritual. In the greater King macroverse, Mataurin also appears in the Dark Tower series as one of the 12 guardians, existing in a universe outside of our own.

But the latest film version of It barely mentions—or does away with entirely—much of this mythology: The kids defeat It without turtles or rituals. And the only reference to the book's "Deadlights"—Its true form, a cluster of lights that drives people insane—is when Bev sees inside the monster's mouth.

That doesn't mean Mataurin was completely absent from It; there were a couple of key turtle references in the film that only true King fans would have noticed.

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The first comes when the kids are swimming in the quarry. One of them dives and shouts, "It's a turtle!" The second instance is when Bill finds It in his family's basement. He's in Georgie's old room, picks up a Lego turtle and carries it downstairs, where he drops the toy on the floor.

These might be the only references to the It origin story that big King fans will get in this film and the inevitable sequel. As director Andy Muschietti told Collider:

"I was never too crazy about the mythology, but it is mentioned, and the turtle appears, as a Lego. It's a Lego turtle. It's a presence that's there in the key moments of the story. Especially when—there's a moment where they're all together—well, you'll see in the movie. I won't spoil you."

Honestly, though, a lot of King's original novel are worth leaving out. Plus, maybe audiences aren't ready to accept that the universe was made by a cosmic turtle who coughed up our very existence during a bit of indigestion.

From: Esquire US