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Pennywise the Clown strikes a pose in new photo from Stephen King's 'It'

By Rick Marshall December 23, 2016

pennywise bill skarsgard stephen king it crop — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Principal photography on the upcoming, big-screen adaptation of Stephen King’s It has ended, but that hasn’t stopped some scary elements from emerging before the film hits theaters.

Makeup effects artist Tom Woodruff recently posted an image of actor Bill Skarsgard in full costume as Pennywise the Clown, the film’s nightmare-inducing antagonist who terrorizes a group of children in Derry, Maine. Famously (or perhaps infamously) played by Tim Curry in a 1990 television miniseries based on King’s novel, the character is widely regarded as one of the most iconic horror villains of the big or small screen.

#adi Pennywise makeup for 2017's IT.

A photo posted by Tom Woodruff, Jr. (@tom_woodruffjr) on Dec 22, 2016 at 4:34pm PST

Directed by Mama filmmaker Andy Muschietti, Stephen King’s It follows a group of childhood friends as they are forced to overcome their fears in order to battle an evil creature tormenting their town’s youngest, most vulnerable inhabitants. Decades later, they find themselves brought together again when a murderer begins preying on the town’s children once again.

The story will be told in two feature-length films, with the first focusing on the younger versions of the characters and the second installment following the same characters as adults. While the original story penned by King had the kids battling Pennywise in the ’50s and then again as adults in the ’80s, the first film will be set in the ’80s and then the sequel will occur in the modern era.

Along with Skarsgård as Pennywise, the first of the two films also stars Jaeden Lieberher (Midnight Special), Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things), Sophia Lillis, Jack Dylan Grazer (Tales of Halloween), Wyatt Oleff (Guardians of the Galaxy), Chosen Jacobs (Hawaii Five-0), and Jeremy Ray Taylor (42) as the young friends brought together by the terrifying events unfolding in Derry.

Stephen King’s It – Part One is scheduled to hit theaters September 8.

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