HBO’s “IT: Welcome to Derry” saw Pennywise return to the screen last year, but Bill Skarsgård was initially reluctant to reprise the iconic role.
Speaking with Screen Rant, the star recalled that he was worried that “you don’t want to milk this one out with a TV show” that might not live up to “the success of the previous films.”
Once he was presented with the plan for the series, however, Skarsgård found himself won over.
“I feel that, in the end, we explored some parts of Pennywise that we hadn’t seen before or hadn’t done,” said Skarsgård. “Andy and I always have fun together, and I think that we did those aspects of it. Even with Pennywise’s performance, there was like, ‘Okay, here’s a juicy scene, and you see something else from Pennywise, or more of him.’ I had fun with those scenes, for sure.”
Skarsgård explains he was “more hesitant about it going into it than going out of it,” finding that he ultimately had “a lot of fun” shooting the series.
Serving as a prequel to Andy Muschietti’s IT films based on Stephen King‘s classic novel, “IT: Welcome to Derry” goes back to 1962 to trace the origins of the murderous, shape-shifting entity known as Pennywise the Clown.
Muschietti directed four episodes and developed the show with Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs. Fuchs serves as co-showrunner alongside Brad Caleb Kane (“Crystal Lake”).
Jovan Adepo (“The Stand”), Taylour Paige (The Toxic Avenger), Chris Chalk (“Gotham”), James Remar (“Dexter”), Stephen Rider (“Daredevil”), Madeleine Stowe (12 Monkeys), and Rudy Mancuso (The Flash) lead the ensemble.
Alixandra Fuchs (Boogeyman Pop), Kimberly Guerrero (“Reservation Dogs”), Dorian Grey (Star Trek: Discovery), Thomas Mitchell (Spiral: From the Book of Saw), BJ Harrison (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), Peter Outerbridge (Saw VI), Shane Marriott (“Fargo”), Chad Rook (Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City), Joshua Odjick (The Long Walk), and Morningstar Angeline (“Echo”) round out the cast.
Ranked as one of Bloody Disgusting’s 10 Best Horror Television Series of 2025, “IT: Welcome to Derry” Season 1 is now streaming on HBO Max and hits physical media on May 5.