Tim Curry provided one of his most iconic performances in the 1990 TV miniseries It, and that’s really saying something. From the looks of it though, Bill Skarsgard promises to give him a run for his money in Warner Bros.’ new two-part, R-rated take on the Stephen King story, which hit theatres next year. Continuing to ramp up the promotion for the film, a new still has been released today, finding Pennywise the Clown lurking in the sewers underneath Derry, Maine.
Based on the first images we’ve seen from It, director Andy Muschetti (Mama) favors an almost doll-like look for Pennywise, which makes him instantly seem a little more un-human and unsettling. An ancient creature that arrived on Earth long before humanity took its place, Pennywise possess the power to assume the appearance and characteristics of whatever most frightens its victims. It almost exclusively preys on children, which makes things all the more terrifying.
While Skarsgard sure knows how to look creepy in a still photo, we’ll have to wait until we see some footage from the film before we can really assess his performance. One assumes that he’ll try to distance himself from Curry’s now-legendary portrayal, but given that the film will stay mostly faithful, one assumes, to the source material, he can’t stretch too far. In any case, he’s mighty menacing already, and hopefully we’ll say the same when It comes creeping into theatres next year.
Promising to stay a little more faithful to author Stephen King’s original story, the first part of It will focus exclusively on the kids in the ’80s, only to return to them 30 years later for the sequel. Part one hits theatres on September 8th.
