He divulged fresh insights into Max's forthcoming series, "It: Welcome to Derry," in which he'll reprise his role as the terrifying clown and serve as executive producer. Skarsgård assured listeners that Stephen King's iconic villain will retain the same intensity and malevolence that audiences vividly remember.
Fans will undoubtedly recall Pennywise's numerous violent exploits from King's acclaimed novel and its film adaptations, such as severing young Georgie's arm and gruesomely devouring other children, often after cunningly gaining their trust. Skarsgård emphasized that Pennywise, and the horror elements in general, will remain "pretty hardcore" in the transition from film to series.
He reiterated the R-rated nature of the prequel series when Horowitz jokingly remarked that "It: Welcome to Derry" is "not the G-rated Pennywise." Skarsgård firmly responded, "No. No. That would be a no."
The actor recently embodied another legendary horror figure, Count Orlok, in Robert Eggers' "Nosferatu." This Gothic horror film enjoyed a phenomenal debut over Christmas, securing the top spot for a genre film's Christmas premiere, surpassing Robert Rodriguez's 1998 sci-fi horror, "The Faculty." Skarsgård admitted to Horowitz that he initially believed his time as Pennywise had concluded after the films and that "Nosferatu" served as "the nail in the coffin on my monster roles — pun intended."
However, his close relationships with "It" director Andy Muschietti and producer Barbara Muschietti, whom he regards as "very close friends, family even," prompted him to reconsider revisiting his old friend Pennywise. The Muschiettis are executive producing "It: Welcome to Derry" alongside Skarsgård, with Andy slated to direct four episodes of the prequel series.
Reflecting on his experience working on "It: Welcome to Derry," Skarsgård shared, "It was fun. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, actually, and there’s parts of it where we got to explore sides of old Pennywise that we haven’t seen, you know? And that’s fun. I remembered how much I enjoy working with Andy and we do have a lot of fun together. I think there’s some cool stuff in there that we haven’t seen that I’m excited for the people to watch and enjoy hopefully.”
Skarsgård also mentioned that he can effortlessly slip back into Pennywise's voice, stating, "Yeah, he’s always there."
"It: Welcome to Derry" is scheduled to premiere on Max in 2025. The series will feature the previously announced Madeleine Stowe, Stephen Rider, Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, and James Remar. Jason Fuchs ("Argylle") and Brad Caleb Kane ("Extinction") are the co-showrunners.
"IT" (2017) is currently available for streaming on Max.
