Thoughts From A Fan: Stephen King's 'IT' Finds Its Pennywise

I just wanted to do a quick article expressing my thoughts and excitement about the new developments for the remake of Stephen King’s “IT.”

I’ve had my reservations about the novel being made into another movie. The TV movie/miniseries from 1990 was “decent” at best. The first half of it has always come off as entertaining, even after all these years later, but the second half of the miniseries is when the entire project turns into a complete bore. After reading the novel, I see what the creators of the miniseries were going for, but too much of the context and heart of the story was gutted out to fit time constraints. That’s okay, though. Many other adaptations have done the exact same things and have found success; it just wasn’t in the cards that time around.

Will Poulter was set to play Pennywise at one time.

That was in 1990, the same year I was born (getting old), and now we are in 2016, the very year another adaptation of this great novel has been promised but can’t quite get off of its feet. Directors have signed on and off. Actors have committed, but creative differences have pushed the film back, causing the actors to back out because of conflicts. Producers have dropped. Studios have tossed it around. The newest adaptation of “IT” has been dragged through the mud and then shoved into a case of iron, poison-tipped spikes. There hasn’t been a lot of promise coming from the situation, except for when Will Poulter (“The Maze Runner,” “We’re The Millers”) was cast as Pennywise months ago. That is no longer happening since Poulter had to drop out, and after that happened it seriously look like this adaptation wasn’t going to happen.

Now some new developments have re-sparked the fire inside this project and inside all of the hearts of fans, like me. This could be just another piece of good news that will be crumpled and burned alive a few months down the road, yet with all the articles I’ve read and other bits of information, this seems to be the first truly hammered spike of the project’s railroad. The new development deals with the novel’s most famous character: a clown who wrecks murderous havoc on the small town of Derry, Maine. Someone has been found to portray this monstrous creature, and it seems absolutely legitimate and definite… but I have been wrong many times before.

Bill Skarsgård, who is most famously known for his role in Netflix’s “Hemlock Grove,” has now been given the role of a lifetime. I’ve personally haven’t watched “Hemlock Grove,” but I’ve only heard good things about the show. I have seen him in “Allegiant” and “Simon & the Oaks,” and in both films he demonstrates he holds the same talent and acting chops as that of his brother, Alexander, and his father, Stellan. There weren’t any prime examples for me to say Mr. Skarsgård would be the “perfect” Pennywise, but then again there aren’t any examples for me to deny it. Perhaps in “Hemlock Grove” I will be able to see a glimmer of a missing ingredient. I’ll have to get back to you about that, and I surely will since “IT” is scheduled for a 2017 release, at this point.

Until that time though, I guess for us long-time fans, newcomers, and people who are just interested in the whole “IT” ordeal, we’re just going to have to wait and see if the casting of Skarsgård is going to spark even greater developments for this project or if more creative differences are sadly going to push Skarsgård away as well. In my personal opinion, Skarsgård is a great choice for the role and seems like he would look incredibly creepy in clown getup, but in all honesty I would’ve loved to have seen Will Poulter tackle the role. This could be because I’ve seen more of his films and how much he has grow over the years. He seemed to fit the bill better and probably would’ve looked even creepier in full on clown attire, but there’s no true reason to dwell on the past. It’s over and Bill Skarsgård is our new Pennywise (for now). I couldn’t be more excited to see the project move even more in the right direction, and I have all the faith in the world that Skarsgård is going to make Mr. Tim Curry (Original Pennywise) proud with this role. With that said though, I do hope Skarsgård will tackle the role in his own way and not try to copy Curry’s greatness. I’m sure he will do it on his own, but hope is something I like to keep around for myself and for this adaptation.