If you’re old enough to remember Pennywise the Clown from Stephen King‘s novel, It, then it shouldn’t take too much to reignite terrifying childhood fears.
The horror story was made into a TV movie in 1990 with British actor Tim Curry cast as the shape-shifting Pennywise the Clown, who terrorizes the kids of Derry. The actor plays the role with gusto and is beyond scary, especially when he peeks from inside sewer grates to talk to (and lure) children to their deaths.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the story, It is the embodiment of your fears: that is, It can take any form. If you’re afraid of birds, for example, It can transform into a huge bird that’ll peck your eyes out. It prefers taking the shape of Pennywise, since it’s a more appealing form to children. Only kids and those who believe in It can actually see It, so adults aren’t really much help.
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Pennywise (and whatever form It is in) puts people into a trance with its “deadlights,” essentially putting them into a waking coma. Sounds lovely, doesn’t it?
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All those It nightmares you tried to repress are now reborn, because there’s another movie on the way, and it looks just as terrifying. Hemlock Grove star and brother to Alexander, Bill Skarsgård, will be tackling the role of Pennywise in this iteration.
The first picture of Skarsgård in the role was released Wednesday to Entertainment Weekly.
“It’s such an extreme character. Inhumane,” Skarsgård, 25, said to the publication. “It’s beyond even a sociopath, because he’s not even human. He’s not even a clown. I’m playing just one of the beings It creates.”
“One of my best friends is completely traumatized by the original film version of It,” he continues. “He has a clown phobia, and he was maybe five or six when he saw it, which is way too young, and he had an older sibling who made him watch it. Now he’s scarred for life.”
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Changes for the upcoming version include a time shift from the ’50s to the late ’80s (it’s a fashionable era now, you know — and also a cinematic hotbed for horror) and a strict focus on the characters when they’re kids. The 1990 version features a second part where the kids are grown up and still facing It, but this iteration only plans to address their adult lives if the first movie is a box-office success.
The movie is set for release in 2017 and will be directed by Andrés Muschietti (Mama).
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