In It, Bill Skarsgard terrorised a group of children as the terrifying Pennywise the Clown. However, he'll be squaring off with adult versions of the Losers' Club in the highly anticipated sequel and that's bound to change the dynamic. During a recent interview, he reflected on the success of the movie and how playing the demonic dancing clown has changed his life and career is a pretty significant way.
"Yeah, it’s weird. It’s a bit strange ‘cause it’s a very different thing now. The first time I did it, nobody knew what I would do with it, so it was just all of this expectation. I didn’t know if it would work, or if people would respond to it. There was a lot of that worry going on about it. But that was also cool ‘cause I was just doing my thing and nobody knew what that was or could tell me how I should do it. I was like, ‘I’m gonna distance myself from the Tim Curry performance, and then come up with some weird stuff, myself.’ I worked really closely with Andy [Muschietti], the director. This time around, because the movie became such a phenomenon, it’s almost like I’m re-adapting myself."
As for what it's been like to welcome the likes of James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain to the cast of It: Chapter 2 and the experience of working with them instead of children, the actor went on to say:
"But off camera, I get to hang out with the entire adult cast now. It’s weird and it’s surreal because some of them are really big stars and they’re coming in to your thing. They’re stepping into the thing that me and Andy and the kids did. They’re joining the band, in a way. They’re excited, and I just had a lot of fun hanging out with all of them. It’s going to be a very different shooting experience with all adults, for sure, but it will be fun. They’re all really cool and talented people, so I think they will bring a lot to the table."
There's a chance we could get some sort of first look at the sequel at Comic-Con this weekend and it would definitely be fun seeing how Pennywise has changed and how the villain will adapt to try and take down the older Losers' Club. Shooting has only just started, though, so that might be wishful thinking. What do you think of these remarks? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.