The two film adaptations that make up IT: Chapter One and IT: Chapter Two were massive successes at the box office and with fans. The two films provided fans with a new take on Stephen King‘s iconic creation, Pennywise, who was portrayed by actor Bill Skarsgård in each of the two films. Now it’s been announced that Bill Skarsgård will return as Pennywise in the upcoming Max series Welcome to Derry.
The highly-anticipated series, Welcome to Derry, is set to act as a prequel to both of the films. However, it was initially unclear since production began whether or not Bill Skarsgård would return as Pennywise. In fact, it first appeared that he wasn’t even going to be involved with the series.
Now, as shared by Deadline, it looks like he will be returning after all. Many details regarding the series and his level of involvement as Pennywise are still being kept under wraps, but the publication did reveal the following:
“Bill Skarsgård is set to star in and executive produce the Max It prequel series Welcome To Derry (working title), He will be reprising his title role as It/Pennywise from the hit 2017 New Line movie It and its sequel, It Chapter Two.”
The announcement was also confirmed by the official IT social media page on X, where they wrote:
“Just when you thought your nightmares were over… Bill Skarsgård has been cast in the Max Original Series Welcome to Derry (working title), reprising his role as Pennywise from ‘It‘ and ‘It Chapter Two.'”
Just when you thought your nightmares were over… Bill Skarsgård has been cast in the Max Original Series Welcome to Derry (working title), reprising his role as Pennywise from “It” and “It Chapter Two.” https://t.co/XpXypptEnT pic.twitter.com/d4foLkQ8IZ
— IT Chapter Two 🎈🎈 (@ITMovieOfficial) May 31, 2024
Hopefully more details will come soon. In the meantime, this is good news for fans that were doubtful about Skarsgård returning to the role. Especially when he even cast doubt about his involvement in the upcoming series at first.
Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates regarding Welcome to Derry as we have them. Now that it’s confirmed Bill Skarsgård will return as Pennywise for the television spin-off, fans are no doubt going to be even more excited to see what’s in store.