Pennywise The Clown is a cultural touchstone, especially for horror fans. That was made even more true when Bill Skarsgard brought the character to life in 2017’s IT and its 2019 blockbuster sequel.
But as Warner Bros. Discovery looks to expand the mythos and works on its prequel series, Welcome To Derry, the return of Skarsgard is not certain. Set in the early 1960s, we’d see Pennywise haunt Derry, the Maine small town, once again, but a new person may be tackling the role.
In a recent interview, Skarsgard tells Jake’s Takes that a return is not currently in the cards: “We’ll see what they come up with and what they do with it. I’m, as of now, not currently involved in it. And if someone else gets to do it, my advice would just be: do it your own, make it your own, have fun with it, you know what I mean? What I thought was so pleasurable about that character was how incredibly abstract he was.”
Little is known about the series, but it will be a prequel to Andy Muschietti’s two-film adaptation of Stephen King’s IT. We’ll reportedly get more on the origins of Pennywise the Clown, which was briefly explored in IT: Chapter Two.
According to what reports say, this will be an original story and not directly adapt King’s work. Though, the series could serve as a way to flesh out the oddities of Stephen King’s work, specifically Pennywise’s primary villain, which in the books is a giant planet-sized turtle named Maturin.
Welcome to Derry is not expected to hit HBO Max till 2024.
