Our first look at the new Pennywise from Stephen King's IT reboot

Pennywise the Clown is one of the most iconic monsters that author Stephen King has created over the years, particularly after Tim Curry’s notable portrayal of the character brought him to life all the way back in 1990’s It.

It’s been making kids and adults alike wary of circus clowns ever since and is currently being rebooted for a new generation (due for release 8 September 2017) – and with that reboot is getting an update as the new actor under the grease paint, Bill Skarsgård, told Entertainment Weekly before also revealing our first look at the killer clown.

This time around they’re going to focus on something that often gets lost when seeing Pennywise: that the clown you’re seeing isn’t the monster, it’s just a projection of the actual monster – a malevolent entity that really is an inhuman it, with Skarsgård saying:

It’s such an extreme character. Inhumane. It’s beyond even a sociopath, because he’s not even human. He’s not even a clown. I’m playing just one of the beings It creates. It truly enjoys the shape of the clown Pennywise, and enjoys the game and the hunt.

What’s funny to this evil entity might not be funny to everyone else. But he thinks it’s funny. There’s a childishness to the character, because he’s so closely linked to the kids. The clown is the manifestation of children’s imaginations, so there’s something child-like about that.

They’re also working hard to differentiate his portrayal of the character from that of Tim Curry’s:

It’s important that we do something fresh and original for this one. It’s purposely not going toward that weird, greasy look. Tim Curry’s performance was truly great, but it’s important for me to do something different because of that. I’ll never be able to make a Tim Curry performance as good as Tim Curry.

Enough with all the prattle, let’s take a look at what we all came here to see:

That’s definitely not a face you’ll trust staring out at you from below a sewer grate. I’m really liking this look – the yellow eyes and the cracks in the make-up really add to the creep-factor. I’m sure after seeing this Nick’ll rush out to invest in a pair of coloured contacts.

What do you think of his new look?

Last Updated: July 14, 2016