New Pennywise the Clown costume revealed, the internet reacts.

Yesterday, Entertainment Weekly shared the first full-length image of Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise in the new film version of Stephen King’s It, and the new costume has generated mixed reactions online.

In case you haven’t seen the new look, behold the new Pennywise the Clown:

The costume was designed by Emmy winning costume designer Janie Bryant (Deadwood, Mad Men) for Andy Muschietti (Mama), who is directing the film.

Bryant goes into great detail about the costume with Entertainment Weekly here, noting that it “definitely incorporates all these otherworldly past lives, if you will,” and adding, “He is definitely a clown from a different time.”

The new outfit is a bit of a departure from the one we saw on Tim Curry in the 1990 television miniseries:

It makes sense that the filmmakers would make an effort to differentiate the new Pennywise from the one in the 90’s miniseries. It’s interesting, however, that the new Pennywise still has a ring of red hair and domed head much like the Tim Curry version. And, am I the only one who think Bill Skarsgård bears a resemblance to a young Tim Curry?

In any case, reactions to the new Pennywise costume on Twitter have been mixed:

Personally, I think the new look is interesting – although a bit over-the-top. It seems to me that if an ancient demonic entity wanted to disguise himself as a clown to make himself approachable to children, he’d pick a look that matches the day and age that the kids themselves live in (In the novel and miniseries it was the late 1950’s and early 60’s, in the new film it will be the 1980’s). But, I’m hoping for the best once the film is out and we can see the new Pennywise costume and character in context.

To be honest though, it is hard to imagine any take on Stephen King’s It that could be as terrifying as the original novel.

What do YOU think of the new Pennywise costume? Weigh in here in our poll, or leave a comment below!