'IT' News, Release Date: Pennywise Actor Bill Skarsgard Insists Upcoming Film Is Not a Remake of the Original Miniseries
The arrival of Andy Muschietti's movie adaptation of one of Stephen King's bestselling novels, "IT," is just around the corner, and fans of the 1990 TV miniseries are excited to see it on the big screen. However, Pennywise portrayer Bill Skarsgard recently opened up about the upcoming film and refuted previous reports that it was a remake of the original miniseries.
While many consider the upcoming film adaptation of "IT" a remake of the miniseries that was aired in 1990, Skarsgard insisted that it is not and said that it is actually a re-adaptation of King's novel. Muschietti's adaptation will feature alterations in the original novel's plot and will reportedly improve King's version while attempting to live up to fans' expectations when it comes to its horror element.
According to Skarsgard, he had to read the entire book to understand Pennywise better, and it helped him create his own interpretation and version of the iconic character.
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In an exclusive interview with Bloody Disgusting, the 26-year-old Swedish actor said: "Tim Curry's performance is understandably iconic, still, but the whole [miniseries], to me, at least, felt like something that might be worth a remake of, or rather, a re-adaptation, is kind of how I want to see the film. It's not a remake of the TV show or the original miniseries, but it's a re-adaptation of Stephen King's book."
Skarsgard added that the script for the upcoming film did not really touch much on who Pennywise really was, so he decided to read the book and take note of everything that described the evil clown in any way. Reading the scenes of Pennywise in the book, he tried to imagine what his character was saying and thinking in those moments.
King's novel, which highlighted Pennywise the demonic clown who preys on the children of Derry, Maine, was adapted into a miniseries in 1990. Its movie version will hit U.S. theaters on Sept. 8.
