Production on It: Chapter Two has begun in Toronto and all new actors have been cast for the adult Loser's Club, but one face that’s staying the same is Bill Skarsgård, returning to his role as Pennywise.
In a recent interview with Collider, Skarsgård expresses his feelings on portraying and getting back into character as the murderous clown.
“The first time I did it, nobody knew what I would do with it, so it was just all of this expectation,” Skarsgård said. “I didn’t know if it would work, or if people would respond to it. There was a lot of that worry going on about it… I worked really closely with Andy [Muschietti], the director. This time around, because the movie became such a phenomenon, it’s almost like I’m re-adapting myself.”
“It became this completely universal thing, outside of the thing. That’s not me. I can’t even relate myself to it anymore,” Skarsgård said. “And now that I’m going back and doing it, it’s such a bizarre thing. I don’t think I’ll ever really experience anything like it. It’s this dualistic thing of me and the work and the character, and then the thing that it became, but it’s fun.”
“I was surprised how much of the character was just there already,” he said. “I instantly could access him again, like it was yesterday that we wrapped the first one. It was just all there. So, the work and preparation and figuring out the character is almost intuitive, which is pretty cool. It’s a very strange thing, but I’m trying to enjoy the ride, as much as I can.”
“It’s weird and it’s surreal because some of them are really big stars and they’re coming in to your thing,” the actor said. “They’re stepping into the thing that me and Andy and the kids did. They’re joining the band, in a way. They’re excited, and I just had a lot of fun hanging out with all of them. It’s going to be a very different shooting experience with all adults, for sure, but it will be fun. They’re all really cool and talented people, so I think they will bring a lot to the table.”
The film also stars Jessica Chastain as Beverly Marsh, James McAvoy as Bill Denbrough, Bill Hader as Richie Tozier, James Ransone as Eddie Kaspbrak, Andy Bean as Stanley Uris, Jay Ryan as Ben Hanscom, and Isaiah Mustafa as Mike Hanlon.
Warner Bros. has set a September 6th, 2019 release date for It: Chapter Two.