The actor is bringing Stephen King’s terrifying clown to the small screen.

Bill Skarsgård isn’t done joking around.

 
According to Entertainment Weekly, the Swedish actor will reprise his role as Pennywise, the demonic harlequin from the horror flicks It and It Chapter Two, in the Max prequel series Welcome to Derry. He will also serve as an executive producer for the show.

Welcome to Derry (a working title) was announced in February 2023, and it, like the It films, will be based on Stephen King’s 1986 novel about a group of youngsters who are terrorised by a terrible entity that frequently takes the guise of a frightening clown.

Dia Dipasupil/Getty; Brooke Palmer/Warner Bros.

Bill Skarsgard will reprise his Pennywise role on ‘Welcome to Derry’.
Related: Max shares the first look at the It prequel, Welcome to Derry.

Andy Muschietti, the director of both films, conceived the proposal for television with Barbara Muschietti, who worked on both films, and Jason Fuchs, who produced and starred in the second series.

In an earlier statement, King stated, “I’m happy that the narrative of Derry, Maine’s most haunted city, is continuing, and I’m glad Andy Muschietti will be managing the frightful celebrations, along with a brain trust comprising his wonderful sister, Barbara. “Red balloons all around!”

The Muschietti siblings also stated, “As teenagers, we took turns reading portions of Stephen King’s It until the thick paperback fell to bits. It is an epic story with considerably more depth than we could possibly examine in our It films. We are excited to reveal the depths of Steve’s story, with all of its heart, humour, humanity, and horror.” 

The emphasis is on the word horror.

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It was initially turned into a television miniseries in 1990. Pennywise was performed by Tim Curry from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, who won an Emmy for music composition and was nominated for editing. 

Prior to his role in Welcome to Derry, Skarsgård advised the next actor to read King’s book.

“If someone else gets to do it, my advice would be: Do it your own,” he stated. “Make it yours. Have fun with it. What I enjoyed about his guy was how abstract he was.

He continued, “There are so many tantrums and abstractions that you can sort of sit and decipher, and that’s what I did with the character.” In this regard, the book is truly a gift. So, if someone is willing to take up the challenge, simply go through the book and look for all the clues. They’re so out there that you can draw your own conclusions from them.”

Since his last role as Pennywise, Skarsgård has been in the blockbuster John Wick: Chapter 4. His future credits include Nosferatu, starring Nicholas Hoult and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and The Crow, in which he co-stars with FKA Twigs.

Deadline Hollywood originally announced Skarsgård’s involvement in Welcome to Derry.

Read the original article at Entertainment Weekly.