55-637: Pennywise or Penny Wise may refer to: Pennywise (character) , also known as It, and Pennywise the Dancing Clown, the title character in the Stephen King novel It and its film and television adaptations Pennywise (album) , a 1991 eponymous album by the band Pennywise (band) , an American punk rock band Penny Wise, pseudonym of Jon Vitti (born 1960), American screenwriter See also [ edit ] Idioms with penny coins Topics referred to by
110-478: A couple of the children from It , asks them about a recent murder in their town, and learns that the murderer apparently "wasn't the clown." It also appears to Jake in the old ironworks, where it taunts Jake about "the rabbit hole," referring to the time portal in which Jake moves from one time to another. In the 1990 miniseries , Pennywise is portrayed by English actor Tim Curry . In the 2017 film adaptation, It and its 2019 sequel It Chapter Two , Pennywise
165-508: A hat, and that it would include the "lobstrosities" from The Drawing of the Three . In an interview with ComingSoon.net , Nikolaj Arcel confirmed that The Drawing of the Three would form the basis for the sequel, and that yet-to-be-cast actors who will play Eddie and Susannah Dean would appear alongside Elba, McConaughey, Taylor, and Haley reprising their roles as Roland, Walter, Jake and Sayre respectively. In February 2018, Amazon bought
220-848: A language for his characters, known as the High Speech. Examples of this language include the phrases Thankee, Sai ("Thank you, Sir/Ma'am.") and Dan-Tete ("Little Savior"). In addition, King uses the term Ka , which is the approximate equivalent of destiny, or fate, in the fictional language High Speech (and similarly, Ka-tet, a group of people bound together by fate/destiny). This term originated in Egyptian mythology and storytelling, and has figured in several other novels and screenplays since 1976. The term also appears in King's short story, "Low Men in Yellow Coats", in which Ted describes its meaning to Bobby. While
275-474: A preference for children since their fears are easier to interpret and adults are more difficult to frighten while It is in physical form. It can manipulate weak-willed people, making them indifferent to the horrific events that unfold, or even serve as accomplices, such as when Pennywise manipulates the school bully and 'Bowers Gang' leader, Henry Bowers to eliminate the remaining 6 members of the Losers Club. In
330-401: A single illustrator only. Subsequent printings of each book in trade paperback format usually preserve the illustrations in full, except for books I and IV. Pocket-sized paperback reprints contain only black-and-white chapter or section header illustrations. The illustrators who worked on each book are: Bill Sheehan of The Washington Post called the series "a humane, visionary epic and
385-451: A true magnum opus" that stands as an "imposing example of pure storytelling," "filled with brilliantly rendered set pieces... cataclysmic encounters and moments of desolating tragedy." Erica Noonan of the Boston Globe said, "There's a fascinating world to be discovered in the series" but noted that its epic nature keeps it from being user-friendly . Allen Johnston of The New York Times
440-454: A variety of powers that include the ability of shapeshifting and manipulation of reality. During the course of the story, It primarily appears in the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown. "The Losers Club" becomes aware of Pennywise's presence after it kills Bill Denbrough 's little brother, Georgie . King stated in a 2013 interview that he came up with the idea for Pennywise after asking himself what children feared "more than anything else in
495-585: Is a continuation of the original Dark Tower story, following the war between the Tet Corporation and Sombra/NCP in New York, and it has been supervised by both Stephen King and Robin Furth . From the website: "Exploring the behind-the-scenes conflict between the two companies, Discordia introduces long-time Dark Tower fans to new characters and numerous mechanical/magical items developed by Mid-World's Old Ones. Over
550-512: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Pennywise (character) It , also known as Pennywise , Robert 'Bob' Gray , and Pennywise the Dancing Clown , is the titular antagonist in Stephen King 's 1986 horror novel It . The character is an ancient, trans-dimensional malevolent entity who preys upon the children (and sometimes adults) of Derry, Maine , roughly every 27 years, using
605-475: Is how he preys on children's deepest fears, manifesting the monsters they're most petrified by (something J. K. Rowling would later emulate with boggarts )." British scholar Mikita Brottman has also said of the miniseries version of Pennywise; "one of the most frightening of evil clowns to appear on the small screen" and that it "reflects every social and familial horror known to contemporary America". Author Darren Shan cited Pennywise as an inspiration behind
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#1732858912902660-402: Is portrayed by Swedish actor Bill Skarsgård . English actor Will Poulter was originally cast as Pennywise, with Curry describing the role as a "wonderful part" and wishing Poulter the best of luck, but the latter dropped out of the production due to scheduling conflicts and first film's original director Cary Fukunaga leaving the project. The modern incarnation of Pennywise, introduced in
715-462: Is referred to on King's website as his magnum opus . In the story, Roland Deschain is a member of a knightly order known as gunslingers and the last of the line of "Arthur Eld", his world's analogue of King Arthur . Politically organized along the lines of a feudal society, it shares technological and social characteristics with the American Old West but is also magical . Many of
770-593: Is set around the time of the flashbacks in The Gunslinger and Wizard and Glass . The first issue of this first arc was released on February 7, 2007. A hardcover volume containing all seven issues was released on November 7, 2007. The second arc in the series, The Long Road Home , began publication on March 5, 2008. A hardcover volume containing all five issues was released on October 15, 2008. The third arc, The Dark Tower: Treachery , began publication on September 10, 2008. A hardcover volume containing all 6 issues
825-456: Is set to reprise the role in the upcoming Max series It: Welcome to Derry , due to be released in 2025. In the novel, It is a shapeshifting alien who usually takes the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown , originating in a void containing and surrounding the Universe—a place referred to in the novel as the "Macroverse". It arrived on Earth during an asteroid impact and made its home under
880-407: The 2017 adaptation, appears as a background character in the family friendly live-action/animated film Space Jam: A New Legacy , which is also distributed by Warner Bros. Several media outlets such as The Guardian have spoken of the character, ranking it as one of the scariest clowns in film or pop culture. The Atlantic said of the character; "the scariest thing about Pennywise, though,
935-531: The Choo-Choo is a "children's book" by Stephen King released in 2016, published under the pseudonym Beryl Evans. It is adapted from a section of King's previous novel The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands . It was illustrated by Ned Dameron. Several Dark Tower series arcs were published by Marvel Comics . A prequel , The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born is plotted by Robin Furth, scripted by Peter David , and illustrated by Jae Lee and Richard Isanove , and
990-546: The Dark Tower, expands upon Stephen King's multiverse and in doing so, links together many of his other novels. In addition to the eight novels of the series proper that comprise 4,250 pages, many of King's other books relate to the story, introducing concepts and characters that come into play as the series progresses. The series was chiefly inspired by the poem " Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came " by Robert Browning ,
1045-498: The Keyhole . King noted that this novel would likely be set between the fourth and the fifth books of the series. The book, titled The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole , was announced on Stephen King's official site on March 10, 2011, and was published on April 24, 2012. Each book in the series was originally published in hardcover format with a number of full-color illustrations spread throughout. Each book contained works by
1100-504: The Losers' victory, It briefly questions its superiority before claiming that they were only lucky, as the Turtle is working through them. It is finally destroyed 27 years later in the second Ritual of Chüd, and an enormous storm damages the downtown part of Derry to symbolize It's death. Pennywise makes a tangential appearance in King's 2011 novel 11/22/63 , in which protagonist Jake Epping meets
1155-515: The character Mr. Dowling in his 12.5 book serial Zom-B . The American punk rock band Pennywise took its name from the character. "I suspect it's a kind of low-level hysteria, like Slender Man , or the so-called Bunny Man , who purportedly lurked in Fairfax County, Virginia , wearing a white hood with long ears and attacking people with a hatchet or an axe. The clown furor will pass, as these things do, but it will come back, because under
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#17328589129021210-641: The character of Pennywise was an influence, which led to King commenting that people should react less hysterically to the sightings and not take his work seriously. The first reported sighting of people dressed as evil clowns in Greenville, South Carolina , US was by a small boy who spoke to his mother about a pair of clowns that had attempted to lure him away. Additional creepy clown sightings were reported in other parts of South Carolina. Evil clowns were reported in several other U.S. states including North Carolina , Kentucky , Pennsylvania , and Wyoming . Later
1265-524: The course of our adventure we will visit many locations, both those familiar to Dark Tower fans and others which we only glimpsed in the Dark Tower novels. While we may not see Roland and his ka-tet in this adventure, the development team has remembered the faces of its fathers. We have done our best to honor the original Dark Tower series while simultaneously mapping new and exciting Dark Tower territory." Sony Pictures and Media Rights Capital adapted
1320-465: The ending "a valediction" that "more than delivers on what has been promised." Joshua Rothman of The New Yorker praised the series, feeling that "the novels were better and weirder than [he'd] hoped." Because it features several of his classic tropes, Rothman claimed, "If you really like Stephen King, you owe it to yourself to give the series a shot." The series has prompted related non-fiction books by authors besides King. Robin Furth has published
1375-569: The full text of which was included in the final volume's appendix. In the preface to the revised 2003 edition of The Gunslinger , King also identifies The Lord of the Rings , Arthurian legend , and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly as inspirations. He identifies Clint Eastwood's " Man with No Name " character as one of the major inspirations for the protagonist, Roland Deschain . King's style of location names in
1430-493: The idea was a new Dark Tower novel. King said, regarding The Dark Tower , "It's not really done yet. Those seven books are really sections of one long über-novel." King confirmed this during his TimesTalk event at The Times Center in New York City on November 10, 2009, and the next day King's official site posted that King would begin working on this novel in about eight months, with a tentative title being The Wind Through
1485-418: The land upon which Derry would later be constructed, initially preying on North American tribes. It slept for millions of years, then, when humans appeared in the area, It awoke and began a feeding cycle lasting about a year, feeding on people's fears and frequently assuming the shape of whatever its prey feared the most. After feeding, It would resume dormancy for approximately 30 years before reappearing. It has
1540-466: The magical aspects have vanished from Mid-World but traces remain, as do relics from a technologically advanced society. Roland's quest is to find the Dark Tower, a fabled building said to be the nexus of all universes. Roland's world is said to have "moved on", and it appears to be coming apart at the seams. Mighty nations have been torn apart by war, entire cities and regions vanish without a trace and time does not flow in an orderly fashion. Sometimes, even
1595-526: The mysterious disappearance of Derry Township's 300 settlers in 1740–43 or the town's later ironworks explosion. It awoke during a great storm that flooded part of the city in 1957, with Bill's younger brother Georgie the first in a line of killings before the Losers Club fight the monster, a confrontation culminating in Bill using the Ritual of Chüd to severely wound It and force It into hibernation. Continually surprised by
1650-462: The narrators. The French audiobooks are published by Éditions Gallimard and narrated by Jacques Frantz . In Russian, The Gunslinger , as narrated by Igor Knyazev, does not have any music or sound effects The first two novels in the series, The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger and The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three, were produced on audio cassette by New Audio Library (NAL) in 1988 and 1989 respectively. The Waste Lands, The Dark Tower Part III,
1705-555: The novel, It claims that its true name is Robert "Bob" Gray , but decided to be named “It”. Throughout the book, It is generally referred to as male, usually appearing as Pennywise. The Losers come to believe It may be female after seeing it in the form of a monstrous giant spider that lays eggs. However, It's true appearance is briefly observed by Bill via the Ritual of Chüd as a mass of swirling destructive orange lights known as "deadlights", which inflict insanity or death on any living being that sees them directly. The only person to survive
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1760-410: The ordeal is Bill's wife Audra Phillips, although she is rendered temporarily catatonic by the experience. It's natural enemy is the "Space Turtle" or "Maturin", another ancient dweller of King's "Macroverse" who, eons ago, created the known universe and possibly others by vomiting them out as the result of a stomachache. The Turtle appears again in King's The Dark Tower series. One of the novels in
1815-766: The pilot, but production company MRC is shopping the pilot scripts elsewhere. In December 2022, director Mike Flanagan announced that he had acquired the rights to develop a television series based on the books and has plans for a multi-season release. Currently there exist five audio versions of The Dark Tower series – in English, Polish, German, French and Russian. The audio book in English published by Hodder & Stoughton features voices of George Guidall and Frank Muller and has neither music nor sound effects. The audio book in German published by Deutschland Random House Audio introduces Vittorio Alfieri and David Nathan as
1870-515: The principal books that are tied to this series, or that this series references, include It , The Stand , 'Salem's Lot , Insomnia , Hearts in Atlantis , Black House , The Eyes of the Dragon , The Shining , and Cell . The TV miniseries Kingdom Hospital takes place in a world in which Nozz-A-La is the most popular beverage in the world, possibly meaning those events take place in
1925-445: The rash of clown sightings." The Dark Tower (series) The Dark Tower is a series of eight novels, one novella, and a children's book written by American author Stephen King . Incorporating themes from multiple genres, including dark fantasy , science fantasy , horror , and Western , it describes a "gunslinger" and his quest toward a tower, the nature of which is both physical and metaphorical. The series, and its use of
1980-618: The right circumstances, clowns really can be terrifying." —Writer Stephen King's reaction to the recurring clown scare phenomenon. The character was suggested as a possible inspiration for two incidents of people dressing up as clowns in Northampton , England and Staten Island, New York , US, both during 2014. In 2016, appearances of "evil clowns" were reported by the media , including nine people in Alabama , US charged with "clown-related activity". Several newspaper articles suggested that
2035-525: The rights to The Dark Tower books for a series adaptation, though it was not made clear at first if anyone from the film would be involved. It was later confirmed that the series would serve as a reboot, with Sam Strike and Jasper Pääkkönen being cast as Roland Deschain and The Man in Black, respectively. In June 2019, Michael Rooker , Jerome Flynn and Joana Ribeiro were also believed to be cast members. In January 2020, Amazon decided not to move forward with
2090-415: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Pennywise . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pennywise&oldid=1257564480 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
2145-546: The same universe as books 4 and 5 are set. Along his journey to the Dark Tower, Roland meets a great number of friends and enemies. For most of the way, he is accompanied by a group of people who, together with him, form the Ka-tet of the Nineteen and Ninety-nine , consisting of Jake Chambers , Eddie Dean , Susannah Dean , and Oy . Among his many enemies on the way are The Man in Black , Mordred, and The Crimson King . King created
2200-557: The same year, "clown sightings" were reported in Great Britain, Australia, and Latin America. One hypothesis for the wave of 2016 clown sightings was a viral marketing campaign, possibly for the Rob Zombie film 31 (2016). A spokesperson for New Line Cinema (distributor of the 2017 film adaptation of It ) released a statement claiming that "New Line is absolutely not involved in
2255-589: The series for film. The film is directed by Nikolaj Arcel, and stars Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey , cast respectively as Roland Deschain and Walter O'Dim. The film was released on August 4, 2017. Critics panned the film with it receiving a score of 16% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film combines elements from several novels in The Dark Tower series, serving as a canonical sequel to the novel series. Stephen King has indicated that The Dark Tower film and television series will follow Roland's "last time round" to
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2310-464: The series was declared finished with the publication of the seventh volume in 2004, Stephen King described in an interview in March 2009 an idea for a new short story he'd recently had: "And then I thought, 'Well, why don't I find three more like this and do a book that would be almost like modern fairy tales?' Then this thing started to add on bits and pieces so I guess it will be a novel." According to King,
2365-550: The series, Wizard and Glass , suggests that It, along with the Turtle, are themselves creations of a separate, omnipotent creator referred to as "the Other" (possibly Gan , who is said to have created the various universes where King's novels take place). Throughout the novel It , some events are depicted from Pennywise's point of view, describing itself as a "superior" being, with the Turtle as an equal and humans as mere "toys". It's hibernation begins and ends with horrific events, like
2420-485: The series, such as Mid-World, and his development of a unique language (High Speech), are also influenced by J. R. R. Tolkien 's work. A film serving as a sequel to the events of The Dark Tower was released in August 2017. Stephen King saw The Dark Tower series as a first draft, initially planning to rewrite it. However, after revising The Gunslinger , "he is trying to decide how much he can rewrite." The series
2475-533: The sun rises in the north and sets in the east. As the series opens, Roland's motives, goals, and age are unclear, although later installments shed light on these mysteries. For a detailed synopsis of the novels, see the relevant article for each book . The series has become a linchpin that is interwoven with, and ties together, much of King's body of work . The worlds of The Dark Tower are in part composed of locations, characters, events and other various elements from many of King's novels and short stories. Some of
2530-466: The titular Dark Tower. In July 2016, director Nikolaj Arcel confirmed that The Dark Tower film would be a sequel to the novels as well as a direct adaptation, with Roland in the next cycle of his journey to the Tower. In a 2017 interview with Collider , Stephen King expressed hope for a sequel film in addition to the upcoming television series, suggesting that it should be R-rated , with Roland wearing
2585-507: The two-volume Stephen King's The Dark Tower: A Concordance , an encyclopedia-style companion to the series that she originally wrote for King's personal use. Bev Vincent has published The Road to The Dark Tower: Exploring Stephen King's Magnum Opus , a book containing back story, summary and analysis and The Dark Tower Companion , which includes interviews and coverage of the Marvel graphic novels. Stephen King has endorsed these books. Charlie
2640-430: The world", and feeling that the answer was clowns . King thought of a troll like the one in the children's tale " Three Billy Goats Gruff ", though he imagined it living in a sewer system rather than under a bridge. The character was portrayed in its Pennywise form by Tim Curry in the 1990 television adaptation and by Bill Skarsgård in the 2017 film adaptation and its 2019 sequel It Chapter Two . Skarsgård
2695-503: Was disappointed with how the series progressed; while he marveled at the "sheer absurdity of [the books'] existence" and complimented King's writing style, he said preparation would have improved the series, stating "King doesn't have the writerly finesse for these sorts of games, and the voices let him down." Michael Berry of the San Francisco Chronicle , however, called the series' early installments "highfalutin hodgepodge" but
2750-541: Was produced on audio cassette by Penguin Highbridge Audio in 1991. Each of these early editions was narrated by the author. The Waste Lands includes musical accompaniment throughout. All of these editions were subsequently re-recorded in 1997 with Frank Muller as the narrator for continuity. Muller narrates the fourth book in the series, The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass. Stephen King selected Muller as his voice for all audio narrations at this time. Frank Muller suffered
2805-464: Was released in 2008, and The Dark Tower: Guide to Gilead was released in 2009. All three books were written by Anthony Flamini , with Furth serving as creative consultant. End-World Almanac and Guide to Gilead feature illustrations by David Yardin. A five-issue adaptation of King's novel The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger , titled The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Journey Begins , began publication on May 19, 2010. The collected hardback edition
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#17328589129022860-463: Was released on April 21, 2009. Following the completion of the third arc a one-shot issue titled The Dark Tower: Sorcerer was released April 8, 2009. The story focuses on the history of the villainous wizard Marten Broadcloak . The fourth arc, The Dark Tower: Fall of Gilead , began publication on May 13, 2009. A hardcover volume containing all 6 issues, as well as the Sorcerer One-Shot
2915-450: Was released on February 2, 2010. The fifth arc, The Dark Tower: Battle of Jericho Hill , began publication on December 3, 2009. A hardcover volume containing all 5 issues was released on August 17, 2010. Marvel Comics has also published three supplemental books to date that expand upon characters and locations first introduced in the novels. The Dark Tower: Gunslingers' Guidebook was released in 2007, The Dark Tower: End-World Almanac
2970-431: Was released on January 25, 2012. A third adaptation of King's novel The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger , titled The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Way Station , began publication on December 14, 2011. The collected hardback edition was released on June 27, 2012. December 7, 2009 saw the release of a spin-off online game titled Discordia , available to play free of charge on the official Stephen King website. The game
3025-473: Was released on January 26, 2011. An adaptation of King's novella " The Little Sisters of Eluria ", titled The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Little Sisters of Eluria , began publication on December 8, 2010. The collected hardback edition was released on June 8, 2011. A second adaptation of King's novel The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger , titled The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Battle of Tull , began publication on June 1, 2011. The collected hardback edition
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