Last we knew the planned big screen version of Stephen King's IT with True Detective's Cary Fukunaga behind the camera was set to start production this summer. But while speaking with the Brazilian newspaper O Globo, Fukunaga says he's still looking for the right actor to play Pennywise the Clown, who was famously played by Tim Curry in the 1990 ABC miniseries.
This will be my first movie in the US and I’m still trying to find the perfect guy to play Pennywise. It’s really good to know Stephen [King] likes what we did. We (Fukunaga and writers David Kajganich and Chase Palmer) changed names, dates (the story is originally set in the 60′s) dynamics, but the spirit is similar to what he’d like to see in cinemas, I think.
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Did the "changed names and dates" part of Cary Fukunaga's comment catch your eye? Me too. It's looking the project will be a modern day take on the Stephen King novel, which means the "Goonies-esque" first film will take place around 1985. Fukunaga also says he's been working on IT for several years.
I’ve been on this project for about five years. I had already read versions of the script but nothing felt right. Everybody tried to put too much into it, telling it from the perspective of the adult and the child in a two hour movie. It didn’t fit. So I decided to throw it all away and start from scratch.
Apparently there are some people who want Tilda Swinton to play Pennywise, and in my opinion she would be absolutely fantastic, although I also think Michael Shannon would do an awesome job as the evil clown. Who would you like to see play Pennywise?
Cary Fukunaga's BEASTS OF NO NATION starring Idris Elba will likely hit Netflix later this year.
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