Pennywise is back in Hamilton filming new TV show based on Stephen King’s ‘IT’
Pennywise the Clown has returned to Hamilton.
The evil entity in Stephen King's 1986 novel IT" and the two hit movies - both which filmed scenes in Hamilton - is back in the city to film scenes for a new TV series for HBO Max.
It's the fourth adaptation of a Stephen King story to film in Hamilton in the last decade.
It follows 11/22/63", a time-travelling thriller centred around the assassination of president Kennedy and starring James Franco that shot in the area in 2015. In 2021, a remake of Firestarter" starring Zac Efron filmed here. It is the story of a little girl with pyrokinesis powers. Hollywood first adapted King's 1980 novel into a film in 1984.
The new 10-episode TV series is a prequel to the films IT" (2017) and IT;Chapter 2" (2019) and tells the story of the origin of Pennywise in the 1960s. It is tentatively called Welcome to Derry."
HBO Max says it is about four kids in a town adjacent to an airforce base with a mysterious bunker. The foursome launch a search for a friend who has mysteriously disappeared.
The show shot scenes at the former Delta Secondary School on Main Street East between May 1 and May 9. It filmed at two homes on East Avenue, near Wilson Street, between May 5 and 6, and then was shooting scenes at the Corktown Pub on Young Street on May 10. It filmed in Port Perry this week and will likely shoot in Cambridge.
While the writer's strike in the U.S. has halted production of shows for some streaming services, HBO Max says the IT prequel has been able to proceed because the scripts were done.
Andy Muschietti, who directed the two big screen adaptations, is an executive producer of the TV show and will direct some episodes. The two movies were produced by Barbara Muschietti, the director's sister. She is also a producer on the upcoming The Flash."
I'm excited that the story of Derry, Maine's most haunted city, is continuing," author King said in a statement.
I'm glad Andy Muschietti is going to be overseeing the frightening festivities along with a brain trust including his talented sister Barbara. Red Balloons all around!"
IT" starred a youthful cast, but the sequel - set 27 years after the first one - starred James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain and Bill Hader. The movies filmed in Hamilton at such locales as Chedoke Hospital, Scottish Rite and an old warehouse on Sanford Avenue South (where Pennywise appeared in a well).
Hollywood media is reporting Bill Skarsgard will not play the role of Pennywise like he did in the movies. Reports indicate the cast includes Taylor Paige (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" 2020), Chris Chalk (Perry Mason" HBO), Jovan Adepo ("Babylon" 2022), James Remar ( Dexter" 2006-2013), Madeleine Stowe (Revenge" 2011-2015), Stephen Rider (Instinct" 2018-2019) and Chad Rook (Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City" 2021, which filmed scenes in Hamilton).
HBO Max announced it had greenlit the series in February. Filming is expected to last until the end of the year. IT was previously adapted as an ABC miniseries in 1990.
We are thrilled to continue the iconic franchise with the brilliant Andy and Barb Muschietti," Sarah Aubrey, head of original content at HBO Max, said in a statement. This prequel will expand the storytelling canvas and bring fans deeper into the terrifying, mesmerizing town of Derry."
Fans of Slasher", the horror anthology show that focuses on a different killer each season, would probably like to know that the show filmed in Hamilton. The show, which just wrapped up its fifth season on Hollywood Suite in Canada, has filmed in Winnipeg, Sudbury, Parry Sound and Orangeville. It shot scenes for this season at Dundurn Castle and the Hamilton Cemetery in May/June 2022. Hamilton's Sharron Matthews is in the fifth season playing Gladys, the housekeeper to Basil Garvey (Eric McCormack). The program shot at the Auchmar Manor House in 2020.
Daniel Nolan is a freelance writer who writes about film for The Hamilton Spectator. He can be reached at dannolanwrites@gmail.com