Bill Skarsgård Talks ‘Hardcore’ Take On Pennywise Role for It: Welcome to Derry

Bill Skarsgård is set to return as Pennywise the Dancing Clown in HBO's highly anticipated It: Welcome to Derry, and he promises it’s going to be a chilling ride. The new series, slated for release in 2025, is developed by It director Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, and Jason Fuchs. Skarsgård, who first terrified audiences as Pennywise in the 2017 and 2019 films, recently spoke with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast about slipping back into the clown shoes of Derry’s most terrifying resident.

“It’s pretty hardcore, man,” Skarsgård teased, hinting that the series could up the ante on the frights delivered by the films.

This news comes as Skarsgård wraps up another iconic monster role, Count Orlok, in Robert Eggers’ upcoming Nosferatu. Reflecting on whether he had any hesitation about returning to Pennywise, Skarsgård admitted, “I felt like I was done with it, in a way.” He elaborated on the challenge of revisiting a character that has become so closely associated with his career.

“I was shooting [Nosferatu], I was doing Orlok, and, to me, it just felt like, ‘This is the nail in the coffin of my monster roles.’ Pun intended,” Skarsgård joked. “So I did feel I was kind of over it and wanted to do different things… I was like, ‘That’s 26-year-old me.’ I’m not still a young man.”

However, the Muschiettis, who he described as “very close friends” and “family,” were the ones to convince him. “I’m the godfather of [Andy Muschietti’s] son. So, I love them, and that was, ‘Alright, let’s bring him back.’”

Once back in the role, Skarsgård found himself enjoying the experience more than expected. “There are parts of it where we got to explore sides of ‘ole Pennywise that we haven’t seen, and that’s fun,” he shared. “I remembered how much I enjoyed 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.”

With Skarsgård back in full creepy clown mode and the Muschiettis at the helm, It: Welcome to Derry is shaping up to be a must-watch for fans of Stephen King’s terrifying tale. Buckle up—Pennywise is back, and it sounds like he’s scarier than ever.