Bill Skarsgård Reveals His Doubts About Returning as Pennywise

Bill Skarsgård has admitted he wasn’t immediately keen on donning the clown makeup again for HBO’s prequel series, It: Welcome to Derry. The actor, who became synonymous with the chilling Pennywise in the original films, confessed that he approached the idea of returning to the role with a fair bit of caution.

Reflecting on his initial reaction, Skarsgård said he was “more hesitant about it going into it than going out of it,” but the experience ultimately proved more enjoyable than he’d anticipated. The prospect of revisiting a character so closely tied to the success of the previous films gave him pause. He explained,

“we did the two movies, and they were very successful,”

adding that he was wary of stretching the story too thin with a television adaptation.

“You don’t want to milk this one out with a TV show”

that might not live up to the reputation of the earlier films, he remarked.

New Territory for Pennywise

Despite his reservations, Skarsgård found himself drawn in once he learned more about the direction the series would take. The creative team’s vision for the show, and the opportunity to explore previously unseen facets of Pennywise, proved persuasive.

“I feel that, in the end, we explored some parts of Pennywise that we hadn’t seen before or hadn’t done,”

he noted. Working alongside Andy Muschietti again was a particular highlight, as the pair relished the chance to delve deeper into the character’s complexities.

Skarsgård described the process as a chance to experiment with new sides of Pennywise, saying,

“Even with Pennywise’s performance, there was like, ‘Okay, here’s a juicy scene, and you see something else from Pennywise, or more of him.’ I had fun with those scenes, for sure.”

The series, he suggested, allowed for a more nuanced portrayal, with moments that surprised even him.

Origins and Twists in Welcome to Derry

Welcome to Derry takes viewers further back than ever before, peeling back the layers of the infamous clown’s history. The show finally addresses the origins of Pennywise as Bob Grey, and introduces a new twist: the character’s apparent ability to glimpse the future. This revelation hints that Pennywise may be targeting the parents of the children who will one day become the Losers’ Club, adding a fresh dimension to the story’s mythology.

While the first series has wrapped, there’s no official word yet on a second. Should it go ahead, the next chapter is expected to tackle the notorious Bradley Gang Massacre, a violent episode in Derry’s past. The timeline would shift even further back, landing in the 1930s, some 27 years before the events of the first season.

What’s Next for the Series?

For now, all episodes of Welcome to Derry are available to stream, offering fans a new perspective on one of horror’s most enduring figures. Those eager for more can look forward to a growing slate of Stephen King adaptations, as well as a host of other series vying for attention on the platform.