Will Poulter is Pennywise in Cary Fukunaga's 'It' re-adaptation

Thanks to Son of Rambow and We're the Millers, actor Will Poulter established himself thanks to his comedic antics. Yet his latest role will make him turn his comedy chops in a different direction, because The Maze Runner star signed on to Cary Fukunaga's (True Detective) It re-adaptation as the killer clown Pennywise.

In the director's two-part Stephen King adaptation, Poulter is the first actor to join negotiations as the evil killer who lures children to their deaths thanks to a clown disguise, as Variety reports. Although older actors like Ben Mendelsohn (Bloodline) and Mark Rylance (the upcoming The BFG) were considered for the part, New Line Cinema decided to go in a different route with a younger actor in the part.

Additionally, Fukunaga was reportedly "blown away" by Poulter's audition and decided he was the right choice for the part. Although the 22-year-old actor is known for his more lighthearted performances and characters, sources note he's capable of darker performances. This is seen in his work in Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu's (Birdman) The Revenant, which is currently still in production.

Attached to the project since December, Fukunaga's plan is to have the first movie centered on the children protagonists, then have the second film see them as adults. Poulter stars in both films as the lead. There's no word on the production start date, although it comes from screenplays written by Fukunaga and Chase Palmer.

This is not the first adaptation of It, of course, as there was one previous TV mini-series adaptation from 1990. Tim Curry played the primary villain in that version.

This is not Fukunaga's first project after his work on the first season of True Detective, as he recently finished up his latest film, Beasts of No Nation. It was acquired by Netflix for a release later this year. He's also attached to the upcoming series The Alienist.

Poulter, meanwhile, in addition to The Revenant stars in Kids in Love later this year and has remained attached to The Yellowbirds since last year. Word on that film, however, remained quiet since then.

Image courtesy of ACE/INFphoto.com