Things are really floating for Andrés Muschietti’s two-part remake of Stephen King’s It. A few weeks ago, the filmmaker posted a few pieces of concept art and set photos for his adaptation, and now he’s gone ahead and unleashed a terrifying first look at Bill Skarsgård as the nefarious titular force, Pennywise.
The soon-to-be 26-year-old actor spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the “extreme character,” specifically its complicated mythos: “He’s not even a clown. I’m playing just one of the beings It creates,” he explained, adding: “What’s funny to this evil entity might not be funny to everyone else. But he thinks it’s funny.”
Skarsgård also addressed the big shoes waiting to be filled with sewage water. “Tim Curry’s performance was truly great, but it’s important for me to do something different because of that,” he remarks of the veteran actor’s iconic role in the 1990 mini-series. “I’ll never be able to make a Tim Curry performance as good as Tim Curry.”
Better yet, the kid’s hit the books, as he contends: “I’ve been doing some clown research. I’m not sure if there was so much clown phobia before the novel. There’s obviously been this thing where people find clowns are unsettling, but nobody explored it the way Stephen King did.”
As previously reported, this adaptation will split King’s original 1986 novel into two movies. The first will follow the children being stalked by the titular shapeshifting monster, while the second will pick up decades later, when those same kids are confronting their same demons as adults.
Jaeden Lieberher, Finn Wolfhard, Jack Dylan Grazer, Wyatt Oleff, Chosen Jacobs, and Jeremy Ray Taylor lead the pack as The Losers Club which Skarsgård’s Pennywise and Owen Teague’s bullish Patrick Hocksetter will prey upon. Their adult counterparts have yet to be cast and it’s still unclear if they will prior to the first installment’s release.
Filming is currently underway in Port Hope, Ontario, which the production team has turned into Derry, Maine. Dread Central recently stumbled upon a number of juicy set photos, confirming the time frame (Summer 1989) and the appearance of one terrifying form of It (ahem, he’s carrying an axe). Take a look at a handful of shots below.
The first half of Stephen King’s It hits theaters September 8th, 2017.
Originally Posted by mdchiefsfan:
Not complaining, but it sucks to see this at the top of the forum, and it not be about IT. Well, kind of complaining, but it's my problem to deal with, and I'm voicing it.
Carry on, fellas.
Well, prior adaptations of King's work seems appropriate until the movie actually comes out, since we are hoping history doesn't repeat itself. :-)
"Haven" was another series based (loosely) on a King story. It was okay for a season or two but went to shit after that. [Reply]
Plus there's only so much we can discuss about an upcoming movie that everybody basically knows the whole premise and how it turns out(if they "Mist" the ending, I'm going to be pissed. IT is a classic good vs evil story where good wins out, eventually). [Reply]
Originally Posted by Why Not?:
Plus there's only so much we can discuss about an upcoming movie that everybody basically knows the whole premise and how it turns out(if they "Mist" the ending, I'm going to be pissed. IT is a classic good vs evil story where good wins out, eventually).
The kids will be fighting Pennywise and sacrifice one of their own to try to win. Seconds later, the Army will come along with a giant vacuum and suck up Pennywise, making the sacrifice unnecessary. Doh! [Reply]
Originally Posted by Frosty:
The kids will be fighting Pennywise and sacrifice one of their own to try to win. Seconds later, the Army will come along with a giant vacuum and suck up Pennywise, making the sacrifice unnecessary. Doh!
This movie looks so damn good.
While he seems to have the "evil clown" look down, I'm hoping Skarsgård can pull off some humor alongside of it. That's where It really shined with Tim Curry. You'd be laughing your ass off one second and then be terrified the next. [Reply]
The passage of time causes rose-colored glasses. Everything I thought was cool when young, once revisited, seems crappier today. "It" is in that category. It was on TV last month so I recorded it, and tried to watch it, and just couldn't. Let's hope this film does more justice to the source material. [Reply]
I am sure I've said it before here but IT is my favorite book. The feeling of utter doom and despair that King places the reader in is very rare. He did it with The Stand but I think that's about it.
The only thing I really feel as though wasn't needed was the gangbang towards the end. I understand the motive but not the result. Could king not have made it to where Bev just kissed or hugged each boy? Christ, maybe just a hand job?
An 11 year old girl fucking six 11 year old boys?
Not a fan.
I seriously doubt this part will be placed in the movie and all but it was an unnecessary part of the novel. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Gonzo:
I am sure I've said it before here but IT is my favorite book. The feeling of utter doom and despair that King places the reader in is very rare. He did it with The Stand but I think that's about it.
The only thing I really feel as though wasn't needed was the gangbang towards the end. I understand the motive but not the result. Could king not have made it to where Bev just kissed or hugged each boy? Christ, maybe just a hand job?
An 11 year old girl fucking six 11 year old boys?
Not a fan.
I seriously doubt this part will be placed in the movie and all but it was an unnecessary part of the novel.
I quit reading Stephen King books after that. [Reply]
This is the 1 or 2 movies that really scare the shit out of me as a kid.
Hated clowns. Friend's older brother had us all watch it, I was about 5yrs old.
Woke up from nightmares from it. Most houses back then had the popcorn spray ceiling. I woke up that night after watching that movie, and could have sworn the word "IT" was spelled out in the popcorn pattern, on the ceiling when I was lying in bed. Didn't sleep the rest of the night. [Reply]
Originally Posted by CoMoChief:
This is the 1 or 2 movies that really scare the shit out of me as a kid.
Hated clowns. Friend's older brother had us all watch it, I was about 5yrs old.
Woke up from nightmares from it. Most houses back then had the popcorn spray ceiling. I woke up that night after watching that movie, and could have sworn the word "IT" was spelled out in the popcorn pattern, on the ceiling when I was lying in bed. Didn't sleep the rest of the night.
Originally Posted by New World Order:
IT and the Exorcist for me.
Saw both when I was a kid
The Exorcist, The Omen, Don't Look In The Basement, The Last House On The Left, Dawn Of The Dead, The Evil Head, Friday the 13th, Halloween... They really knew how to scare the shit out of a kid in the old days. Even the cheesy scary movies like My Bloody Valentine were better than most of the stuff nowadays. [Reply]
