Bill Skarsgård explores Pennywise’s unique perception of time. [Image Source: YIMG]
Set decades before the known events of the It films, It: Welcome to Derry expands on the lore of Pennywise the Dancing Clown. In a recent interview, Bill Skarsgård discussed Pennywise’s extraordinary experience of time, highlighting how this ability shapes the story’s narrative. The show’s timeline is nonlinear, with Pennywise aware of future events well in advance, which ties directly into the character’s terrifying strategy.
By the end of the first season, which takes place in 1962, the timeline becomes scrambled; this period is 27 years after the original It movie and 54 years before It: Chapter Two. Despite this, Pennywise already has knowledge of events that will unfold in 1989 and 2016. His goal is chilling: to prevent the future Losers Club from ever existing by targeting children early, effectively erasing their possibility to defeat him.
Bill Skarsgård on Pennywise’s Timeless Nature
Skarsgård acknowledged Pennywise’s strange temporal abilities, reflecting on the character’s dual existence. He said,
“I thought that was an interesting thing that the character is kind of going in two different directions,”
illustrating the clown’s complex navigation through time.
He continued, questioning the concept from Pennywise’s perspective:
“But what’s time to something that is not part of this dimension?”
This suggests Pennywise operates outside the bounds of linear time, possibly moving through different periods as he pleases.
The actor admitted that truly understanding this concept is difficult:
Image of: Bill Skarsgård
“It’s so abstract this transdimensional evil being thing with a spider and a turtle or whatever. It is really out there. From reading the book, you can interpret it a thousand different ways,”
referring to the enigmatic nature of Pennywise’s being.
The Mythic Backdrop: Maturin and Stephen King’s Universe
Bill Skarsgård’s mention of “the turtle” alludes to Maturin, an ancient cosmic entity in Stephen King’s mythology that contrasts with Pennywise. This cosmic theme complicates straightforward interpretations of time, since if Pennywise shares origins with Maturin, normal human concepts of past, present, and future would not apply.
Skarsgård laid bare the uncertainty surrounding these rules:
“I’m pretty sure Stephen King doesn’t really know,”
revealing even the creator’s fluid approach to this mystifying timeline.
What Lies Ahead for Pennywise’s Story
Despite the confusion, Skarsgård advises viewers not to fixate on the specifics of the time mechanics, emphasizing the storytelling experience instead. He said,
“It’s kind of this little bookend thing how we ended it,”
adding,
“I’m not quite sure where we’re going with it, but there’s something fun to explore that Pennywise might be going backwards, but it’s forwards for him just as it is for the audience who are.”
Looking forward, the showrunner Andy Muschietti plans to further explore Pennywise’s relationship with time across multiple seasons. Season 2 is expected to shift the timeline back to 1935, with Season 3 going even further into the past, set in 1908. This backward journey promises to delve deeper into Derry’s cursed history and Pennywise’s origins, expanding the unsettling mythology.
Bill Skarsgård’s insights highlight the unsettling disorientation Pennywise’s timeless existence brings, reflecting an anxious and tense atmosphere that permeates the series. As the show continues, audiences can expect their understanding of Pennywise and the nature of time itself to be challenged and stretched in unexpected ways.
