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  1. Entertainment
  2. TV
  3. Horror Shows
  4. It: Welcome to Derry

New It: Welcome to Derry behind-the-scenes clip proves Bill Skarsgård is terrifying as Pennywise with or without VFX

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By Lauren Milici published 17 December 2025

He just kind of looks like that

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Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise in the It: Welcome to Derry finale
(Image credit: HBO)
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A new behind-the-scenes clip from It: Welcome to Derry episode 8 has arrived, and it proves that Bill Skarsgård doesn't need any CGI to be completely and totally terrifying as Pennywise the Dancing Clown.

The brief clip, which can be viewed below, shows us a pre-VFX and a post-VFX version of the season finale when Lilly, Will, Marge, and Ronnie are struggling to place the cosmic dagger back into the ground in order to send Pennywise back to sleep for another 27 years. In the top clip, Skarsgård is screaming into the camera with just his Pennywise makeup on - and it's somehow scarier (to me, anyway) than the bottom clip that edits in a darker sky, swirling snow, and those piercing yellow eyes.

Oh, and that voice is also real. If you're a Stranger Things fan, you might be aware that while Jamie Campbell Bower plays Vecna and does his voice, the voice is then edited in post to sound just a little bit deep and a little more menacing. Skarsgård, however, is able to just kind of...sound like that. Not to mention the fact that, aside from the SFX-applied enlarged head and hair, those creepy facial expressions are also just...Bill's face. No edits needed there, either.

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Watch full video here:

Chilling. Stream all episodes of #ITWelcomeToDerry now on HBO Max. pic.twitter.com/xnt0rhQn66December 17, 2025

Though It: Welcome to Derry season 1 has come to a close, Andy Muschietti has plans for two more seasons of the hit prequel series, and that means at least 16 more episodes of Pennywise doing his little dance-y dance while eating children and preying on their deepest darkest fears. Woohoo!

All episodes of IT: Welcome to Derry are now streaming on HBO Max in the US and NOW in the UK. For more on what to watch, check out our guide to the best new TV shows on the way in 2026.

You may like
  • Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise in the It: Welcome to Derry finale Pennywise is closer to returning as Andy Muschietti confirms "we're now working" on IT: Welcome to Derry season 2
  • Pennywise in It Chapter Two Andy Muschietti confirms an It supercut is going to happen, but we won't see it until after Welcome to Derry season 2
  • Bill Skarsgård as Tony Kiritsis and Dacre Montgomery as Richard Hall in Dead Man's Wire Bill Skarsgård plays a scorned kidnapper in Dead Man's Wire, a surprisingly funny crime thriller
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Lauren Milici
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Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ based in New York City. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.

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