After years in development, Cary Fukunaga’s two-part IT adaptation has finally cast its Pennywise, which will see The Maze Runner star Will Poulter don the iconic red nose and razor sharp teeth. It’s a hell of a decision by Fukunaga and New Line, who wanted to go a different route for the character by casting someone rather young; Poulter is just 22.
The big thing here is that after considering actors like Mark Rylance and Ben Mendelsohn, Fukunaga couldn’t say no after being blown away by Poulter’s audition for the part, which was apparently supremely creepy. And if there’s a guy who knows creepy, it’s the dude who made True Detective. It’s odd casting for sure—especially considering they could have probably chosen anyone for the role—but that’s what makes this decision so special. Poulter brought something to the table that no other actor did and I can’t wait to see how his take on the character stacks up to the great Tim Curry. And while Poulter has been in a handful of films, we still haven’t seen what this kid can really do. That’s some exciting stuff and I wish him the best of luck in filling the big shoes of Mr. Pennywise.
Because King’s original novel ran at around 900 pages, Fukunaga will smartly shoot the film in two parts—one movie focusing on the protagonists as kids and another focusing on them as adults. While they’ll obviously have to cast a separate set of actors for each film, Poulter’s Pennywise is featured in them both, making him the real star of the project.
The story follows a group of kids called the Losers Club that encounter a creature called It, which preys on children and whose favorite form is that of a sadistic clown called Pennywise. When the creature resurfaces, the kids are called upon to regroup again, this time as adults, even though they have no memory of the first battle.
Production on IT will start this summer, officially bringing Pennywise back to the big screen right where he belongs.
Source: Variety
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I for one am always fine with the casting of an unknown. I can always gripe after the film-which is how it should be. However, this is not a perfect world and therefore some people will not want to wait. It will begin…soon.
I’m with you there, man. No one really knows what this kid can do just yet, so there’s no need to complain. This movie is going to be great.
I can’t wait.
I’m scared already!
Clowns will do that!
You’re not wrong! Currently reading IT so this is very topical.
Oh nice! I’m a huge Stephen King fan, but I got into his stuff really late so I started with his newer books and have been working my way backwards. IT is one I’m very much looking forward to getting to.
I only started with his stuff a year or two ago and have been selecting stories at random. It’s great coming to an author late, especially someone as prolific as King – so many books to choose from there’s no waiting for the next one.
That and his books are usually pretty great, so it’s a win win!
Sounds like this will be a real creep fest, especially since it involved a clown. It’s a smart idea to film this in two parts, once as kids and then as adults. It also sounds like a very ambitious project!
Oh, for sure. This is going to be a huge film and I’m really surprised that New Line was cool with making it in two parts considering they don’t know how well the first film will do.
Yes, that’s a huge leap of faith for anyone, never mind Hollywood…
Haha, exactly!
A kid? Oh I dunno. Tim Curry did such a great job that I can’t even imagine anyone else in the role. I’d hoped they’d go ahead and recast him.
It’s no doubt some interesting casting, that’s for sure!
I wish him luck – he’s gonna need it. Tim Curry scares the bejeezus out of me every time I watch It….
Curry’s performance is brilliant, no doubt about it.
Super excited about this!
I actually really like Will Poulter although, as you’ve said, these are big clown shoes to fill
Having such a young actor play such an iconic role is a big gamble
Well, in spite of the disappointment of Leto’s Joker, at least I have one clown to look forward to this year!
Omg. Can you imagine Pennywise with all of those tattoos and a grill? Someone needs to photoshop that like now.
Remember I said the griping would soon begin? I was right. Check out Yahoo!
You were definitely right about that!? You can’t make everyone happy, especially horror fans. That’s a picky bunch 😉
always waiting for good remakes. hope no dissapointment
Yeah, good remakes are a nice surprise. I honestly think this movie is going to be head and shoulders above the miniseries with Curry. Outside of his performance, that’s just not a very good adaptation.
He has big shoes to fill, to bad they couldn’t get Tim curry To do it. But i will definitely watch this and I hope they change the ending.
It’s a new vision that I imagine will deviate somewhat from the book, so I’m glad they didn’t get Curry back. It deserves its own voice.
Well, looking forward to seeing what they do. I will have to rewatch It again sometime soon. It never really scared me and didn’t ruin clowns for me, so I would like to see someone really nail the scary here. Poulter must have had one insane audition!
Honestly, outside of Curry’s brilliant performance as Pennywise, I think the original is more bad than good. I will be shocked if Fukunaga’s take isn’t miles better.
THANK YOU! I was starting to wonder if I was very much alone in my sentiments toward the film!
Definitely not alone in that one!