Stephen King fans barely have time to get their racing heartbeats back to a regular rhythm these days, with movies and TV shows based on the author’s work coming thick and fast. The latest release arrives on HBO Max on October 26, and sees the return of one of King’s best-known and most terrifying creations: Pennywise the Clown. The shape-shifting walking nightmare returns in prequel series, It: Welcome to Derry, which gives the creature a new origin story and brings back Bill Skarsgård in the role that he made his own across two movies in 2017 and 2019. However, it was not always guaranteed that the go-to actor for creepy characters would return in the prequel as the actor had some serious reservations about coming back for more.
In an interview with SFX Magazine, director Andy Muschietti explained how bringing Skarsgård back was always the intention, but never a guarantee as the actor was “hesitant” about returning to the role of Derry’s resident child-eater.
“I think he was a little hesitant at the beginning to play It again because he is something that he did in the past.
Also, at that point, when we started talking about the series as something that was real and tangible, he had played a lot of very dark characters, and he was a little hesitant to go into it again. Because, obviously, for someone that takes his work and his art so seriously as him, it takes a toll to live in the head of those characters for a long time. So he was a little hesitant at the beginning – and then something changed. I guess that we started again, going into it and discussing all the virtues of this new story and he decided to do it.”
What Made Bill Skarsgård Return as Pennywise in ‘Welcome to Derry’?
Having already played Pennywise in Muschietti’s version of King’s novel, Skarsgård clearly felt like he had already done everything he could as the character. The thing about the prequel, though, is that the story was no longer just about the killer clown costume worn by the evil entity known as It, but the man the creature took over, Bob Gray. It was this that executive producer Barbara Muschietti believed gave Skarsgård the incentive to agree to return.
“Because there was a lot more Bob Gray exploration, which we had talked to in the past, and we even had discussed making a third movie about Bob Gray before he was taken over by It and became Pennywise. This became a good little piece of candy to play with. We saw him having a really good time doing it. So it was nice to see him, especially in the Bob Gray moments when he’s more distended, have fun.”
Welcome to Derry became one of the most anticipated shows being released this month when it dropped a new trailer a few days ago. It has always been one of the King’s most-loved novels, and the character of Pennywise is a horror icon that has transcended the disturbing appearances he has made on screen to be known by children as well as adults. Now, fans will get to see how Bob Gray became one of the most evil presences in literature, and we are all here for it.
- Release Date
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October 26, 2025
- Network
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HBO
- Directors
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Andy Muschietti