Music & Arts

‘It Chapter Two’ Is Finally Here

Our favorite killer clown is back.

“It Chapter Two,” starring Bill Skarsgård as the sinister Pennywise, hits theaters September 5. Early reviews suggest that fans should expect more of the same from 2017’s “It.”

Entertainment Weekly calls it “overwrought” in the headline of its C+ review. The New York Times and Variety both make note of the movie’s long running time (2:49), but Variety notes, “In retrospect, it’s easy to see that the 2017 film [already long at 135 minutes] was just a glorified trailer for this movie.” And Rolling Stone gives it three stars, suggesting that it’s “almost as scary but not quite as grabby” as its predecessor.

So far, “It Chapter Two” is registering at 72% on Rotten Tomatoes.

But back to Pennywise and the steamy Swedish Skarsgård.

Castmate Bill Hader told USA Today of the anticipation of working scenes with Skarsgård, who practiced his scenes in seclusion while getting decked out in his costume: “You’d be standing there and you see the [filmmakers] go, ‘OK, Bill’s ready.’ It was like an animal on set, like you’re working with a bear. ‘OK guys, we’re bringing the bear in.’”

Sounds perfect! We can’t wait to see how his Pennywise has evolved, or devolved, in the sequel.