During a recent interview with Jake’s Takes, Bill Skarsgård confirmed that he will not return as Pennywise in the upcoming IT prequel series, Welcome to Derry. With filming set to begin in the near future, Skarsgård reveals that he is not currently involved with the project. Bill Skarsgård starred as the infamous killer clown in the 2017 and 2019 adaptions of Stephen King’s IT – also known as Chapter One and Two. Although Skarsgård may not be involved at this time, Pennywise himself will certainly be returning to the small screen with an all-new series at HBO Max. You can check out what Skarsgård had to say below.
“As of now, I’m not currently involved with it,” he said. “If someone else gets to do it, my advice would be: Do it your own. Make it your own. Have fun with it. What I found pleasurable about that character is how abstract he was.”
Welcome to Derry is a brand new adaptation, which will expand upon the lore in a way not seen in the original book. Stephen King stated, “I’m excited that the story of Derry, Maine’s most haunted city, is continuing. I’m glad Andy Muschietti is going to oversee the frightening festivities, along with a brain trust, including his talented sister, Barbara. Red balloons all around!” The all-new prequel series is set decades before the events of the feature films, going back to the 1960s and delving into the origins of Pennywise the Clown. It has been reported that filming will begin sometime in April 2023, but no casting announcements have been made yet.
Bill Skarsgård isn’t Against Pennywise Being Recast
While it is currently unknown if Skarsgård will sign on to star in the series last minute, he went on to talk about how the Stephen King novel serves as the best source of inspiration. “What I thought was so pleasurable about that character was how incredibly abstract he was. If you start reading Stephen King‘s cocaine-binged book, you just go, ‘What the hell.’ I mean, there’s so many weird tantrums and abstractions that you can kind of sit and kind of decipher, and that’s what I did with the character, and I really enjoy that aspect. And then inform the character. The book is really a gift that way. So, if someone would take it on, just go through the book and find all the clues. They’re so out there that you can kind of make your own conclusions to them.”
No release date has yet been announced for Welcome to Derry at this time.