Can Will Poulter Compete With Tim Curry’s Pennywise In The ‘It’ Reboot?


For those that haven’t heard the news yet, Will Poulter has been chosen to star as the new Pennywise. Probably best known for his role in We’re The Millers, Poulter is hardly what one would imagine in Tim Curry’s iconic role. The question remains: can Will Poulter be scary enough to create a new generation of coulrophobics?

When Cary Fukunaga first started working on a reboot of Stephen King’s It, he promised a vicious retelling of It, a reboot which has already received Stephen King’s blessing. What would the master of horror say now with the wholesome-looking Poulter cast as the eternal evil entity most commonly known as Pennywise the clown?

The It reboot will be released as a two-part feature film. The first film will have the protagonists dealing with Pennywise (Will Poulter) as children, while also giving a more in depth look at the characters’ childhoods. Poulter will again return in the second part of It, reprising the Pennywise role as the now-adult protagonists again battle their evil foe.

Fans of Stephen King will nods their heads knowingly at the knowledge that the novel was thought to be too large, at over 1,100 pages, for a feature film adaptation, and all involved opted instead for the television miniseries, which was released in 1990 and starred Tim Curry as Pennywise. In a generation where longer films and sequels have become run of the mill, New Line is expecting the Will Poulter version of Pennywise to be a big draw as a two-film release.

Inside sources close to Fukunaga have said that the studio was looking for a younger actor to play Pennywise, and that Fukunaga was blown away by Will Poulter’s audition, so it may be possible that Poulter possesses some talents not yet seen in his previous roles. Prior to the decision to go with a younger look for Pennywise and the subsequent casting of Will Poulter, New Line considered casting either Mark Rylance or Ben Mendelsohn in the role.

It will be interesting to hear Poulter ask “Don’t cha want a balloon?”

Or will Mr. Poulter be better when he’s asking for a kiss?

Originally from Hammersmith, London, Will Poulter is also known for his roles as Lee Carter in Son of Rambow (2007) and Eustace Scrubb in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010). In addition to It, Poulter can also be seen in the upcoming adventure, The Revenant.

What’s your opinion? Do you think Will Poulter has what it takes to be a terrifying Pennywise, or will the rebooted It be a failure?

[Featured image: Will Poulter courtesy of Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images and Pennywise from It (1990) courtesy of Lorimar Television]

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