Bill Skarsgard revealed in a new interview that Pennywise will be vengeful, and a lot more vicious in It: Chapter Two. The film premieres in theaters this fall, but Skarsgård filled viewers in on a few important aspects of the film, including the mindset of his character. It sounds like the next installment in Andy Muschietti's horror remake of the Stephen King book may be even more terrifying than the first movie.
Muschietti's 2017 adaptation of It ends with The Losers' Club figuring out that overcoming fear is the key to defeating the extraterrestrial shape-shifting monster, or at least to putting him to rest for the next 27 years. They each vow to return as adults in the future if the killer clown shows up again, like in King's novel, and that's where Chapter Two will begin. Warner Bros. revealed earlier today that the trailer for It: Chapter Two will debut tomorrow at 12pm ET/9am PT. Right now, only Stephen King has seen the film in full, and King has since heavily praised the sequel, even going so far as to call it "terrific".
Speaking with EW, Skarsgård revealed that his character has undergone a change of sorts over the course of the past 27 years. "He’s been doing this forever really, so he doesn’t change in the sense that you would look differently. He looks however he wants to look for any particular prey at the time, but I do think there’s a change." Referring to his character's shape-shifting abilities, the dancing clown will not necessarily appear any differently in Chapter Two, but he does hint at another kind of change that Pennywise experiences: "His last line — ‘Fear…’ — is him experiencing it for the first time, and he’s sort of shocked and perplexed and surprised. Like, what is this?” He's definitely had the time over the last 27 years to stew in this new feeling, which, as a being not of this world, he's never felt before. The Losers Club discover at the end of the first movie that fear is the key to his defeat, when Beverly survives Pennywise's attack by not succumbing to her fear. It makes sense, after all those years, that the clown would come back even more viciously the second time around. Skarsgård added: “It fuels hatred and anger towards the kids, who will be adults in this one, so I think there might be an even more vicious Pennywise. He’s really going after it.”
Of the character, Skarsgård added that, "There’s a lot to explore." Pennywise has the element of surprise at his advantage, because he can appear in whatever form he wants to. The actor explains: “You can change him or make him whackier, but he’s not really bound to continuity in the sense that a normal character would be. We can explore his unpredictability now that we’ve established the character for the audience. We can still sort of shock them.”
From the sound of it, the film will delve much deeper into the character's psyche and tap-in to his most terrifying abilities. The upcoming film will also include an established cast portraying the adult versions of the Losers' Club. James McAvoy will join Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby co-stars Jessica Chastain and Bill Hader in the film. Chastain and McAvoy also starred in X-Men: Dark Phoenix together. So far, only a first look at McAvoy in his portrayal of Bill Denbrough has been released.
King himself and now Skarsgård have both indicated that It: Chapter Two will be a film that fans of the 2017 remake, the older film starring Tim Curry, and King's novel alike won't want to miss. With the release of the trailer slated for tomorrow, there will likely be even more exciting details to follow in the days counting down to the premiere. Until then, the teaser will hopefully hold fans over, at least for a little while.
Source: EW
