Will Poulter in talks to play freaky clown in Cary Fukunaga’s ‘It’

Will Poulter’s latest role may be no laughing matter.

The 22-year-old actor best known for playing a goofy virgin in “We’re the Millers” is in negotiations to portray the killer clown Pennywise in Cary Fukunaga’s two-part adaptation of “It,” a New Line spokesperson confirmed to The Times. Variety first reported the news.

Based on Stephen King’s voluminous horror novel, “It” is to span a pair of feature films about outcast teens who come together to vanquish an evil creature one summer, then must resume the battle as adults.

Fukunaga (HBO’s “True Detective”) is to direct both films, which he wrote with Chase Palmer. Production is slated to begin this summer.

Fans of King’s novel and the 1990 TV miniseries adaptation will recall that the eponymous monster being circled by Poulter typically takes the form of a menacing clown with a toothy grin.

Poulter would be something of an unexpected choice to land the role, if only because of his youth. Tim Curry was twice as old when he played the character in the miniseries.

On the other hand, Poulter has embraced darker fare since 2013’s “We’re the Millers,” playing an antagonist in the YA thriller “The Maze Runner” and a villain in Alejandro G. Inarritu’s upcoming revenge movie “The Revenant.”

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