‘IT’ Movie Updates: New Full-Body Photograph of Villainous Pennywise the Clown Revealed; Producer Likens Remake to Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’

‘It’ recently released a new full-body photograph of the evil Pennywise the Clown. Meanwhile, producer Dan Lin likened the remake to Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’.

A new terrifying photograph of Bill Skarsgard’s iconic villain Pennywise the Clown has recently been revealed as posted on Entertainment Weekly. The image featured Skarsgard in full clown garb complete with Pennywise’s signature evil smile. Emmy-winning costume designer Janie Bryant reportedly drew from several influences to create the new costume, specifically from the Medieval, Renaissance, Elizabethan, and Victorian age.

Bryant said, “The costume definitely incorporates all these otherworldly past lives, if you will… He is definitely a clown from a different time.” Pennywise also had a thick collar around his neck, which was taken directly from the 16th century.

The designer revealed that the collar was Fortuny pleating, which brought out a “crepe-like” effect to the material. 

She added, “There is almost a doll-like quality to the costume… The pants being short, the high waistline of the jacket, and the fit of the costume is a very important element. It gives the character a child-like quality.”

Bryant is best known for her work on several films and television series. She earned an Emmy Award for Outstanding Costumes for a series for her work on HBO’s ‘Deadwood’.

The upcoming film is directed by Andres Muschietti, an Argentine film director and screenwriter best known for his work on the 2013 horror film ‘Mama’. Muschietti’s film is a live-action adaptation of Stephen King’s horror novel of the same name published in 1986.

It follows a group of children as they attempt to fight off a supernatural shape-shifting creature that terrorizes them. The creature, known as Pennywise, exploits phobias and uses these to stalk and hunt down its prey.

Bill Skarsgard will star as Pennywise. The children of The Losers’ Club include Jaeden Lieberher as Bill, Jeremy Ray Taylor as Ben, Sophia Lillis as Beverly, Jack Dylan Grazer as Eddie, Chosen Jacobs as Mike, Wyatt Oleff as Stanley, and Finn Wolfhard as Richie.

During an interview with Collider, producer Dan Lin revealed that ‘It’ will be homage to the cult films of the 1980s. He likened the upcoming film to Netflix’s highly popular television series ‘Stranger Things’, and not just because Wolfhard is in it. Wolfhard plays lead protagonist Mike Wheeler in the series.

Lin said, “I think a great analogy is actually Stranger Things, and we’re seeing it on Netflix right now. It’s very much an homage to ’80s movies, whether it’s classic Stephen King or even Spielberg . Think about Stand by Me as far as the bonding amongst the kids. But there is a really scary element in Pennywise.”

He added, “We clearly had a great dynamic amongst the kids. Really great chemistry is always a challenging thing with a movie like It because you’re casting kids who don’t have a ton of experience, but it ended up being really natural. Each kid, like a Goonies or Stand By Me, has a very specific personality and they’re forming the loser’s club obviously. And now finally the evil force is coming into our movie. We’ve spent a few months getting the kids to bond and now they’re going to fight this evil, scary clown.”

‘It’ is an upcoming horror film scheduled to premiere in the United States on September 8, 2017. It is produced by KatzSmith Productions, Lin Pictures, Vertigo Entertainment, and Village Roadshow Pictures. It is distributed by New Line Cinema in the United States.