The HBO Max It prequel series, Welcome to Derry, received a huge blow as it appears that Pennywise actor Bill Skarsgård will not be returning to the role.
For some, the best part of the recent It films was Skarsgård's performance as Pennywise. He had clown-sized shoes to fill when stepping into the role, as Tim Curry did a magnificent job in the 1990 miniseries, but Skarsgård's more visceral performance was a highlight of both films.
But it does not appear that Skarsgård will be holding onto any red ballons anytime soon…at least not yet. Speaking on the Jake's Takes podcast with host Jake Hamilton, Skarsgård was asked about his involvement in Welcome to Derry to which he replied, “We'll see, you know, what they come up with and what they do with it. I'm, as of now, not currently involved with 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.”
It is one of Stephen King's classic works from 1986 and has been adapted twice. First was Tommy Lee Wallace's 1990 miniseries and then Andy Muschietti's It and It Chapter 2 which split the massive book into two separate films. Like the films or not, they were both box office successes. The first It film grossed $700 million worldwide, and while It Chapter 2 grossed significantly less at just $473 million worldwide, these aren't Avengers-sized blockbusters that we're talking about here with budgets north of $150 million.
Hence why a continuation of that world makes all the sense in the world. Variety has been on top of the development of the series, which is being developed by Andy and Barbara Muschietti, dating back to last March, and they also reported that Jason Fuchs and Brad Caleb Kane would be co-showrunners.
Bill Skarsgård has been on a tear as of late himself. Last year, he was in Barbarian as Keith — a much-needed humane role after associating him with Pennywise for so long. This year, Skarsgård could be seen in John Wick: Chapter 4 as Marquis Vincent de Gramont — a high-ranking member of the High Table. He'll be getting back into some more iconic roles very soon as he's slated to be playing the titular character in Rupert Sanders' upcoming adaptation of The Crow and will play Count Oriok in Robert Eggers' Nosferatu adaptation.
No word yet on when Welcome to Derry will premiere on HBO Max, but it's worth keeping an eye on this and seeing whether or not they end up courting Skarsgård back into the role to roam the sewers once again.
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