Bill Skarsgård was at first “hesitant” to play Pennywise again in It: Welcome to Derry until one exciting change convinced him. Skarsgård had already played the famous Stephen King villain in It (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019).
The story of It: Welcome to Derry takes place before the Losers Club faced Pennywise in the movies and the original book. Based on the interlude chapters from Stephen King’s novel, the prequel will look at Pennywise’s backstory, the town of Derry, Maine, Mike Hanlon’s parents, and some new characters.
In an interview with SFX Magazine, director and executive producer Andy Muschietti said that Skarsgård was “hesitant” to return because playing such a dark role can be draining. But over time, Skarsgård’s doubts faded. Muschietti explained:
I think he was a little hesitant at the beginning to play It again because he is something that he did in the past. Also, at that point, when we started talking about the series as something that was real and tangible, he had played a lot of very dark characters, and he was a little hesitant to go into it again. Because, obviously, for someone that takes his work and his art so seriously as him, it takes a toll to live in the head of those characters for a long time. So he was a little hesitant at the beginning – and then something changed. I guess that we started again, going into it and discussing all the virtues of this new story and he decided to do it.
Executive producer Barbara Muschietti added that Skarsgård was especially drawn to exploring the backstory of It taking over Bob Gray and becoming Pennywise, an idea they had once thought about for a third movie.
Because there was a lot more Bob Gray exploration, which we had talked to in the past, and we even had discussed making a third movie about Bob Gray before he was taken over by It and became Pennywise. This became a good little piece of candy to play with. We saw him having a really good time doing it. So it was nice to see him, especially in the Bob Gray moments when he’s more distended, have fun.
One of the main reasons Welcome to Derry is so exciting is Skarsgård returning as Pennywise. His presence makes it feel like a true prequel to the movies, instead of starting fresh with a new actor, especially after his widely praised performance in the films.
The show might have been less appealing without him, though it’s easy to see why he might not want to step into Pennywise’s shoes again after already doing it twice. But the deep backstory and themes gave him enough reason to return.
It also helps that Skarsgård worked with Andy and Barbara Muschietti on the It films, building trust and a shared vision for Pennywise and Derry’s story. Even though a third film was never made, the prequel now continues the story they had already wanted to tell.
It (2017) is still seen as one of the best Stephen King films, thanks to Skarsgård and the Muschiettis. Their past work shows they’re the right team for It: Welcome to Derry, and these comments prove the prequel was made for story reasons, not just because the IP is popular.
It: Welcome to Derry will premiere on HBO on October 26.
Source: GamesRadar
