Bill Skarsgård Will Return as Pennywise in Welcome to Derry

After much speculation, it has now been revealed that It star Bill Skarsgårdwill return as the terrifying Pennywise the Clown in the upcoming Stephen King prequel series, Welcome to Derry. As per a report by Deadline, Skarsgård is now set to star in and executive produce the series, which is due to make its debut on the HBO streaming service Max next year.

Skarsgård will reprise the role of Pennywise, a role which he first played in 2017’s It before returning in the 2019 sequel, It Chapter Two. While there has been some criticism regarding the look of the character in the recent movies, with some arguing that he looks too obviously monstrous, Skarsgård has received praise for his performance, most notably his ability to balance soft-spoken creepiness with overt menace. No doubt many will be excited to hear that he will be back to cause more terror in Welcome to Derry.

The Max series will act as a prequel to the It story, and is expected to take place in the 1960s, exploring the origins of Pennywise. The series will see Skarsgård reunite with It and It Chapter Two director Andy Muschietti and producer Barbara Muschietti, who have developed the show, with Muschietti set to direct four of the nine episodes. Other producers include It Chapter Two co-producer Jason Fuchs, as well as Roy Lee and Dan Lin.

Starring alongside Bill Skarsgård in Welcome to Derry are Jovan Adepo (Fences), Chris Chalk (When They See Us), Taylour Paige (Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F), James Remar (Dexter), and Stephen Rider (Daredevil).

Welcome to Derry Will Be ‘Very, Very Character-Driven’

While there is plenty about Welcome to Derry that still remains a mystery, director Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr. recently teased the “character-driven” nature of the series, saying…

“Ah, I can’t really talk about that. But I will say it’s a TV show. So, you learn more about the characters, it’s very, very character-driven. I’ve enjoyed preparing for that show, and I think audiences will be as scared as they are in the original movies, and Andy Muschietti’s handprints are all over this series. So, I think people will be very excited for the series. [Mike Flanagan and Andy Muschietti] are quite similar. Both Andy and Mike are horror aficionados, they’re also very much all about emotion, and character.”

Alongside Welcome to Derry, Bill Skarsgård has several other horror-based projects in the pipeline. The actor will next lead a remake of the gothic superhero The Crow, starring as Eric Draven, aka The Crow, a musician who, after he and his fiancée are murdered, is resurrected so that he can enact his revenge.

Skarsgård is also due to star in another remake, Nosferatu, which will find the actor starring as the titular vampire. Written and directed by Robert Eggers, Nosferatu stars Bill Skarsgård as Count Orlok alongside Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, and Willem Dafoe.