IT Star Talks Pennywise Character Development Since First Film, Emotional Toll of Portraying Villain

The first promotional material for IT: Chapter Two was released earlier this week, taking the internet by storm. The first film in the series, released in 2017, saw the demonic clown Pennywise terrify the children of the small town of Derry, Maine before being stopped by a group of outcasts who dubbed themselves the “Losers’ Club.” At the end of the film, the Losers’ Club took a blood oath to return to Derry if Pennywise ever reared his head again. As shown in promotional photos and footage of IT: Chapter Two, Pennywise does indeed return to the small New England town, setting up his next big confrontation with the Losers’ Club. Bill Skarsgard, the actor who plays Pennywise, recently sat down with Entertainment Weekly to discuss what has changed for the killer clown in the next film.

Speaking with reporters from the magazine, Skarsgard says that the biggest change to Pennywise is how he behaves emotionally. Skarsgard points out that Pennywise has been terrorizing the community for hundreds of years, treating every person he encounters as his next meal. After his encounter with the Losers’ Club in the first film, Pennywise knows fear for the first time. While part of Pennywise’s method involves inflicting great fear on his victims, after experiencing it for the first time, the clown now feels great hatred for the Losers’ Club. Returning to Derry, Pennywise isn’t just interested in finding his next victim, he has a score to settle with the Losers’ Club, who are now adults. Skarsgard further hints that now that the Losers’ Clubs are grown up, Pennywise will not feel the need to show any kind of mercy to his chief foes, being all the more vicious.

Skarsgard also talked of how he felt as an actor in revisiting the maniacal Pennywise. After finishing production on the first IT film, Skarsgard felt that a weight had been lifted from him. Returning to his home in Sweden, Skarsgard likened no longer playing the character to an exorcism where he expelled the darkest part of his psyche. Nevertheless, Skarsgard told of how the character still haunted him in dreams. The actor told reporters of how each night, Pennywise would visit him in nightmares, both as a separate individual and as himself playing the character in situations that weren’t even in the film. Despite the mental toll, Skarsgard said that he sees returning for the film as a way to permanently let go of Pennywise.

IT: Chapter Two premieres on September 6.