One Actor Already Confirmed for ‘IT’ Chapter Two

Given its record-setting opening weekend, it seems like only a matter of time before the second part of the latest adaptation of Stephen King‘s IT gets announced by Warner Bros. While there are many unknown variables about the next installment, the one thing we know for certain is Bill Skarsgard will return to reprise his role in the film, which the filmmakers revealed to Entertainment Weekly.

“We got Pennywise!” Producer Barbara Muschietti revealed to the outlet. Her brother, director Andy Muschietti, confirmed, “We’ve got Pennywise and it’s Bill Skarsgard.”

To some, this news isn’t all that shocking. For anyone familiar with the story, you’re aware that, while the Losers’ Club defeats the monstrous “It” as youths, they face the threat once again 27 years later, which takes a similar form.

The director has made some changes to the original story’s structure, which called into question how he would handle the next installment. Both the book and the 1990 miniseries adaptation told the tale of the Losers’ Club as adults while using flashbacks to explore their history, with Muschietti choosing to focus on the friends’ formative years for this first installment.

The next film in the series is set to be far more ambitious than the first, which is a credit to It’s interdimensional nature. Considering Skarsgard’s Pennywise is merely one form of the entity, Muschietti could have chosen a completely different actor to personify the creature, but it sounds like he’ll remain consistent with Skarsgard’s image.

The second installment in the adaptation might focus on the Losers’ Club as adults, but the narrative structure will still include flashbacks.

“On the second movie, that dialogue between timelines will be more present,” Muschietti explained. “If we’re telling the story of adults, we are going to have flashbacks that take us back to the ’80s and inform the story in the present day.”

IT is currently in theaters.