Stephen King’s IT: We Have A New Pennywise…

“I’m every nightmare you’ve ever had. I’m your worst dream come true. I’m everything you ever were afraid of.”

It’s been a while since we checked in on the new production of Stephen King’s IT. When last we wrote about it (Dec. 2014), there had been no casting announced, all we knew was Cary Fukunaga was at the helm, and following the first season of HBO’s True Detective, he was about the hottest name around. It was the announcement of Fukunaga as director that had people so excited for the project. In May of 2015 they cast Will Poulter to play the infamous clown, but just days later things started to unravel;

The project was originally coming together under the direction of Cary Fukunaga, who left over creative differences, and at the time, Will Poulter (We’re the Millers, The Revenant) was to have played Pennywise. The search for a new director pushed the movie by a year and Poulter was no longer available. – THR

The whole movie got put on hold after the departures, and for a little while, was thought to be dead. Then in July, New Line Cinema brought in a new director, Andy Muschietti, the man behind Mama. Now, nearly a year later, they have finally found their Pennywise; enter Bill Skarsgard. Son to Stellan (Thor, Avengers: Age of Ultron) and the brother of Alexander (True Blood, Straw Dogs), Bill is probably best known for Hemlock Grove.

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Bill Skarsgard on Hemlock Grove (Netflix)

The young Skarsgard has some pretty big shoes to fill. Tim Curry’s portrayal of the character is one of the most iconic turns in the last quarter-century of horror.

The original TV mini-series event, which aired on ABC in 1991, saw seven children, known as The Loser’s Club, come together to fight an ancient evil in the town of Derry. Three decades later the friends must return to the traumatic setting of their youth to once again battle the creature known as IT.

The new film is set to be an R rated, two-parter, with the first half focusing on the kids, and the second chronicling the group’s return to Derry as adults. This format should allow some of the more graphic parts from King’s 1986 novel to be shown; things that were limited by technology, budget and broadcast standards back in 1991.

IT is currently slated for a Sept. 8, 2017 release.


Images: New Line Cinema, ABC, Netflix

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