As IT continues to break box office records in its second weekend it appears audiences around the country – and even the world – can’t get enough of the demon clown Pennywise (Bill Skarsgard). We get a healthy dose of the murderous, red-haired creeper in this first film, and it turns out we could’ve seen even more of him, as Skarsgard recently revealed there was an entire flashback sequence that was cut from the final film.
While speaking with Variety, the IT actor talked about how a “really, really, disturbing” scene was shot that took us back to the 1600’s and explored the origin of Pennywise. The scene was unfortunately cut from the final product, but Skarsgard thinks it’s something that could make its way into the second film:
There was a scene we shot that was a flashback from the 1600s, before Pennywise [was Pennywise]. The scene turned out really, really disturbing. And I’m not the clown. I look more like myself. It’s very disturbing, and sort of a backstory for what It is, or where Pennywise came from. That might be something worth exploring in the second one. The idea is the ‘It’ entity was dormant for thousands and thousands of years. The [flashback] scene hints on that.
The next film will follow the Loser’s Club as adults, having to re-confront IT 27 years after their first encounter. Director Andres Muschietti says the sequel will be much darker, and that Pennywise’s origins will factor into its defeat. However, we may get to see the scene even earlier, as an extended cut is being made for the home release with an extra 15 minutes added on. Fingers crossed!
I could watch Skarsgard all day as Pennywise, so I would’ve been down to see his origins in this first film. I agree that there may not have been a logical place to put it, and that it will probably fit better in the second film. He will be more malevolent next time around, so getting such a dark glimpse at It’s origin should fit the tone nicely. I expect a little bit of juggling to be seen, as well as whatever the 1600's equivalent of making balloon animals is.
IT is in theaters now!