Last year was a year of Stephen King. With no less than a handful of brand-new adaptations hitting the big and small screen alike, audiences who had been eager to see some quality work in visual form weren’t disappointed. Without a doubt, the highest profile work to hit theaters was the new take on his epic tome of a novel, IT.

The film saw a band of kids take on an evil as old as time itself. Though it usually popped up in the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown, it had the ability to take on many forms. One little coincidence that most weren’t able to shake was its resemblance to the 2016 series Stranger Things, which borrowed heavily from the tone and style from the King novel.

RELATED – What David Harbour Wants To See In Stranger Things 3

Speaking with EW, King discussed how he thinks that Stranger Things may have been partially responsible for priming audiences for the new IT. Here’s what he said:

“I think that Stranger Things might’ve had something to do with it, but that’s kind of an incestuous thing because so much of Stranger Things reminds me of stuff that I’ve written. But I think that played a part. Obviously the idea of a bunch of kids fighting a supernatural terror just sort of appealed to people, and they saw a chance to root for the good guys, which doesn’t always happen in horror movies.”

Incestuous could be the right way to describe it. After all, the Duffer Brothers — who created Stranger Things — were heavily influenced by King, and the idea that audiences were primed for a new adaptation of an old story by a new story influenced by an old one (confused yet?), is just a little counterintuitive.

That being said, this past year proved that there was plenty of room for both IT and Stranger Things 2, so as long as audiences have the affinity for the similarities — and that they’re different enough at their core — then we’re golden.

What do you think of King’s comments? Let us know down below!

Don’t forget to share this post on your Facebook wall and with your Twitter followers! Just hit the buttons on the top of this page.

SOURCE: EW