Sad news for fans of Bill Skarsgård – his version of the terrifying dancing clown won’t appear in Stephen King’s prequel, Welcome to Derry. The Swedish actor rose to fame as Pennywise in the 2017 horror film IT: Chapter One.
The actor reprised the role in the 2019 sequel, IT: Chapter Two, where he received outstanding praise. The prequel has been in progress since last year, and details about the plot are still kept under wraps. The working title Welcome to Derry will be helmed by Jason Fuchs and Brad Caleb Kane.
Bill Skarsgård Won’t Return As Pennywise In Stephen King’s IT Prequel
Speaking with Jake’s Takes, Bill Skarsgård confirmed he won’t return as the terrifying villain in the prequel. He has a word of advice, though, for the new actor who will fill in the shoes:
“As of now, I’m not currently involved with it. 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.”
Andy Muschietti’s IT follows the abhorred clown Pennywise hunting a group of kids called The Losers Club. The plot begins when Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott) crafts a paper boat and places it on the streets while raining. He lets the boat float on a stream of water that travels to the sewer, leading to Pennywise’s hideout. The villain tears the kid’s arm and eventually drags him into the abyss.
Bill (Jaeden Lieberher), the older brother, exacts revenge on the clown and makes a plan on how to get rid of him. He finds a group of kids haunted by the monster as well, and together they face their fears and ultimately defeat Pennywise. Although, based on the sequel’s ending, the story seems far from over.
The upcoming HBO Max prequel series will take fans back to Pennywise’s villain origin story, an exciting phase in the horror tale that would bring chills down the spine.
What We Know So Far About IT Prequel ‘Welcome To Derry’
Last year, news broke out regarding the development of an IT prequel, with Fuchs and Kane taking the wheels. The former has been on board the project for a long time and has written the script’s debut episode. The screenplay will be based on a story Fuchs co-wrote with Andy and Barbara Muschietti.
There is no confirmation whether some of the original cast would return, given Skarsgård already revealed his absence from the project. While the story ended in the film’s sequel, Muschietti claims there is still so much to explore (via Gizmodo):
“Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. It has been on Earth for millions of years. He’s been in contact with humans for hundreds of years, every 27 years. So, you can imagine the amount of material.”
The IT franchise earned over $1.1 billion at the global box office. The sequel took place 27 years after the original film, with a new adult cast featuring James McAvoy, Bill Hader, and Jessica Chastain as the older versions of the characters.
