Stephen King’s ‘IT’ Almost Featured Pennywise in the 1600s

During the course of IT, one of the most frightening discoveries is that a mysterious presence has tormented the town of Derry, ME for centuries. According to Bill Skarsgard, who plays Pennywise in the film, a scene was shot depicting the villain’s early presence in the town, but it was ultimately cut.

“There was a scene we shot that was a flashback from the 1600s, before Pennywise [was Pennywise],” Skarsgard told Variety. “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.”

The actor continued, “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.”

Following the massively successful opening weekend of the film, the announcement came that the home video release will feature a director’s cut that adds 15 minutes to the film.

“There’s a great scene, it’s a bit of a payoff of the Stanley Uris plot which is the bar mitzvah, where he delivers a speech against all expectations,” the director revealed to Yahoo! Movies about scenes he was sad to cut. “It’s basically blaming all the adults of Derry [the town in which the story unfolds], and it has a great resolution. … Maybe it will be in the director’s cut!”

“After the spitting contest it escalates into something that is completely weird and irrelevant to the scene but is so funny,” Muschietti explained of another scene. “Jack Grazer, who plays Eddie, does something that is completely bonkers.”

It’s also possible that these aspects of the character will be explored further in the sequel, as its already been explained by the filmmakers that the upcoming installment will feature flashbacks to the young characters featured in the first film.

IT is currently in theaters.

——-

Want to win a killer Kingsman: The Golden Circle prize pack? 2 lucky winners will get the chance to win some epic Kingsman gear by clicking here or the image above! Also click here to find out when Kingsman: The Golden Circle is playing near you and pre-order your tickets for your local Regal Cinema!