The new feature adaptation of Stephen King’s horror novel It will have big shoes to fill, particularly in light of the enduring popularity – and creepiness – of the Tim Curry TV adaptation from 1990.
Dogged by a troubled preproduction, which saw Beasts of No Nation and True Detective director Cary Fukunaga step down from the project, the first trailer has arrived, showcasing a horror spectacle set to terrify an entirely new generation this September.
Directed by Mama’s Andrés Muchietti, It takes place in Derry, Maine, where seven kids band together to form ‘The Losers Club’. While facing the usual rites-of-passage problems like school bullies, the kids also come up against a terrifying monster in the guise of a clown going by the name of Pennywise.
Adapting King’s epic 1,138-page novel is no easy feat, and It has been split into two parts. The first, billed as The Losers Club, takes place across one year in the late 1950s, with the as-yet-unannounced sequel jumping forward 30 years.
Swedish actor Bill Skarsgård, of the acting dynasty, has a mountain to climb taking on the iconic part of Pennywise, with the memories of Tim Curry’s interpretation considered a horror benchmark for millions of people worldwide.
“It’s such an extreme character. Inhumane,” Skarsgård recently told Entertainment Weekly about taking on the part. “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.”
Opening in cinemas on September 8th, take a look at the trailer in full below:
