As Stephen King fans know, his novel IT is a massive story. One that, unfortunately, is almost impossible to adapt without making changes to the text. This is evident in both the original 1990 miniseries and feature film adaptations, all of which have differences from one another and the original novel. One key difference is Audra, Bill Denbrough’s wife, who served a much smaller role in the film IT: Chapter 2 when compared to past appearances.
In IT: Chapter 2, Audra serves only a very brief appearance. Her character exists to give Bill more motivation to return to Derry after they get into an argument. She insists that Bill’s ending for his book isn’t as good as the happy ending that the director who is adapting it wants. After the two have their heated argument, she walks away, and Bill leaves for Derry. And that’s about the full extent of her character in the film.
The book is much different, as summed up by ScreenRant, and reveals that not only do Audra and Bill have a happy marriage – but that part of it is because he helped her recover from a drug addiction she faced after becoming famous. By the time Bill leaves for Derry, Audra ultimately ends up chasing after him.
However, it’s Bill that ends up saving her after she winds up catatonic in the sewers of Derry upon seeing Pennywise’s deadlights. After defeating Pennywise, the two ride on Bill’s old bike – a gesture which revives her in both the book and original miniseries.
The movie IT: Chapter 2 takes a vastly different stance with Audra, keeping her appearance in the film to a bare minimum. While that might’ve impacted her own character development and Bill’s individual development as a result, it allowed more space for all of the Losers to be developed as a whole instead. And, in the end, perhaps that was the most important element for the movie when compared to other interpretations of Stephen Kong’s novel.