Pennywise star Bill Skarsgård gives cryptic response to Welcome to Derry rumors

Following his terrifying turn as Pennywise in the IT horror movies, Bill Skarsgård has teased whether he’ll return as the killer clown in the new spinoff series, Welcome to Derry.

Welcome to Derry was originally announced in 2022 before getting the greenlight in 2023. The series by Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, and Jason Fuchs serves as a prequel to both IT horror movies.

With Pennywise the focal point as the franchise’s lead antagonist, there’s room for him to return. When asked about this in an interview with Esquire, Skarsgård said, “I don’t want to spoil it. Maybe.”

To many fans, that’s a possible yes, with CinemaBums on X/Twitter commenting, “Hahah that’s gotta be a yes. Would make no sense for him to not want to return given the MASSIVE success of the character and movies.”

The Crow actor’s response may come as a bit of a surprise as he originally said in an interview with Jake’s Takes that he wasn’t reprising his role.

“As of now, I’m not currently involved with it. If someone else gets to do it, my advice would be: Do it your own. Make it your own. Have fun with it. What I found pleasurable about that character is how abstract he was,” said the actor.

Welcome to Derry is set in the 1960s and will explore Pennywise’s origins and the events leading up to the franchise movies. There’s plenty to explore, as the films don’t go too far into Pennywise’s backstory, other than revealing he was once a real man and part of a circus.

According to the books, he’s still an otherworldly entity, but his real name is Robert “Bob” Gray. If Welcome to Derry is a prequel and Skarsgard has now teased a possible return, the actor may just reprise his role but as Bob Gray.

For now, the cast includes Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, James Remar, Chris Chalk, Madeleine Stowe, and Stephen Rider.

Welcome to Derry is now scheduled to be released sometime in 2025. Until then, check out the horror movies to get excited about in 2024, as well as the new TV series streaming this month.