They dont come back the same.
The makers of the new film have their reasons and talked to EW exclusively about the change.
If youre here, youve watched the newPet Sematarytrailer and learned where it deviates from Kings original narrative.
Paramount Pictures
Trust me, we were nervous about it, says producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura.
I feel this way about anything that you remake or update.
If we gave you what you had before, we didnt do the subject matter much good.
That was one, we thought, All right, lets make this choice.
Much of how they shot the first [movie] was a doll, Widmyer says.
Its creepy and its effective.
Paramount Pictures
They felt it had been done already, and this was a chance to try something fresh.
You cant physically have that with Gage in a movie, Kolsch says.
Whyd they make her say these lines?
Kerry Hayes/Paramount Pictures
Gage is so young, you cant really do that much with him, di Bonaventura says.
So this way, were able to really get underneath our affected child.
Were able to get into the psychological horror of a child [coming back] because of her age.
Paramount Pictures
Is this the real Ellie, struggling to speak around the sinister presence animating her?
Or is it a calculated performance to lower their guard?
Either way, its not something the filmmakers felt audiences could easily believe from a toddler.
There was something about an 8-year-old and the psychology that she would have, Widmyer says.
She would understand what happened to her on the road.
She would understand that shes dead.
She would know how to not only physically kill a person, but psychologically destroy them as well.
It just gave another layer to it.
Waiting to hear what Stephen King says about it.
