The most pressing question for Cary Fukunaga’s new adaptation of Stephen King’s It was foretold long ago, in the prophetic lyrics of Faith No More: You want It all, but you can’t have It. It’s in your face, but you can’t grab It. What is It? It’s It. What is It? It is a killer clown. It is We’re The Millers star Will Poulter. That’s It.
Variety reports that Poulter has snagged the role that left so many ’90s children terrified of finding Tim Curry in a sewage drain, with the 22-year-old actor currently in negotiations to play Pennywise across both of Fukanaga’s two feature films. While older actors like Mark Rylance and Ben Mendelsohn were also in the running, Poulter reportedly won out when New Line decided the film should “go younger” with its shapeshifting, ageless evil who arises every three decades to feed on children’s fear—long touted in web ads as the one weird trick to taking years off your face.
Fukunaga will begin shooting It this summer, with the script from Seth Grahame-Smith splitting the story into two chapters— one following the protagonists as kids, and another following them as middle-aged adults who are still terrified by the 22-year-old Pennywise, though now mostly out of jealousy.