New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. latest adaptation of Stephen King‘s IT is on the way this fall but it will be boasting a major change.

Earlier this week we told you that the film had received an “R”-rating by the MPAA for “violence/horror, bloody images, and for language.” Notice there’s no mention of sexual situations. This is important for one reason, and it goes back to King’s original source material.

“In King’s novel, The Losers Club find themselves arguing in the sewers below Derry after the defeat of Pennywise,” MovieWeb notes. “While the pre-teens are lost, the character Beverly suggests that they all have sex, losing their virginity together. The scene goes on for pages while King describes what’s going on in rather graphic detail. But it’s not as sinister and weird as one may think as King tells the story in a loving way, not in a malicious or disgusting manner. King uses the act as a way to bridge the two time periods together that readers jump back in forth between.”

King has spoken about the subject before:

“I wasn’t really thinking of the sexual aspect of it. The book dealt with childhood and adulthood, 1958 and Grown Ups. The grown ups don’t remember their childhood. None of us remember what we did as children, we think we do, but we don’t remember it as it really happened.”

King went on to explain that the act was meant to connect childhood to adulthood:

“Intuitively, the Losers knew they had to be together again. The sexual act connected childhood and adulthood. It’s another version of the glass tunnel that connects the children’s library and the adult library. Times have changed since I wrote that scene and there is now more sensitivity to those issues.”

Digressing, the Andrés Muschietti-directed IT hits theaters on September 8, 2017, and if the aforementioned MPAA rating is any indication of what to expect, we will not be seeing the controversial sex scene in this film. What’s interesting, however, is that Cary Fukunaga’s original script, which Muschietti was working off of, was even worse.

ScreenGeek did some digging and shares the shocking scenes removed from Fukunaga’s adaptation when Muschietti eventually took over directing duties, including a scene in which eleven-year-old Beverly Marsh is raped by her father.

Parents on a casting forum for child actors voiced their displeasure for the film’s script. One parent stated:

“I don’t remember it being anything more than suggested in the original either. But it goes farther than that in this script. Much farther in a couple scenes, the father kissing her bare stomach, hands up her skirt to slip off panties, in addition she describes being gang raped to another character. Add it all up and it’s just to much for us. We were so excited when we got it, but there was a pretty heafty email from agent to read script and approve before agreeing due to content.”

Another parent said:

“This is just gross. And I’m not talking about the content… I’m talking about directors/producers who want to hire underage actresses to make out with creepy old men.”

As the site also notes, there was also reportedly one scene in the original script in which the bully character Henry Bowers raped a Hanlon sheep and masturbated onto a birthday cake. 

Another scene that was taken out of the early draft featured Stan Uris, one of the child protagonists, using a woman’s restroom at his Jewish temple and encountering a rotting naked woman. The woman tries to tempt Stan, going as far as touching herself in front of him.

The site alleges that the studio wanted Fukunaga to edit these scenes out, and he refused, which could have led to some of the creative differences that caused his exit.

Without the sex scene it will be interesting (not really) to see how Muschietti bridges his two films that connect the children’s battle with Pennywise to them having to reunite as adults in the sequel.

Those of you who have ready King’s story, what do you think about all of this?