'John Wick 4': Bill Skarsgård Explains Why He's Joining Keanu Reeves' Action-Packed Sequel
The 'It' star is a fan of the franchise and hit it off with director Chad Stahelski
Bill Skarsgård, who famously played Pennywise the Clown in the It movies, has confirmed Collider's recent scoop that he has joined the cast of John Wick 4. Skarsgård finally addressed his involvement in the action-packed sequel during an interview for Nine Days, the Sundance drama that opens in New York and Los Angeles on July 30 before expanding nationwide on Aug. 6.
"I think the movies are very entertaining. I've always been a fan of these kinds of over-the-top, exploitive action movies," said Skarsgård, who explained how he was cast in John Wick 4 and why he's drawn to projects that challenge him as an actor.
"Chad [Stahelski] reached out to me and I met him a few times, and I really liked him. It was a really fun role. I'm not gonna go into detail [about] what it is, but it was a fun role and a fun world. I like the movies. I think they're entertaining and it is something that I haven't really done before. That's always something that does inspire me, for whatever it is. It's like, 'Okay, this is a project or genre or something that I haven't done, so let's try it out and let's have fun within those genre constraints.' So, I'm really looking forward to it," said Skarsgård.
Asked whether his role requires fight training, Skarsgård said "no" and though he didn't offer up much in the way of details, he promised that his character is "something different. That's why I wanted to do it," said the actor, who then went on to elaborate.
"I've had it [in my mind] for a very long time that I want to try to be as versatile as I possibly can, whether it is crossing genres or playing these vastly different characters. I actually just finished a horror film, but I feel like the horror genre is something that I've done a lot of. I'd like to do comedy and I'd like to do action. I'd like to do as much as possible. And I think that's the key to longevity in this business and having a fun career where you can go like, 'I can do a lot of different things,' so you don't end up limited into this box, which happens all the time," said Skarsgård, who lamented conventional Hollywood thinking when it comes to casting.
"The industry itself is like, whatever your last big success is, that's what they think that you are. 'Oh, he's great at being freaky monsters,' then freaky monsters become your type and you're like, 'Wait a minute, I can do a lot more than that.' So, I'm just trying to do as many different types of roles and projects as I can. As long as there's something that I find interesting and fun in the character, that's how I respond to it and I'm like, 'Oh, I can do something with this.' That inspires me. So, basically, it's as simple as that."
Skarsgård has done a good job thus far balancing different genres, though he is clearly drawn to darker material, from the It movies to thrillers like Assassination Nation and Villains, to ensemble-driven dramas such as The Devil All the Time and Nine Days. Next up for Skarsgård is the indie crime thriller N. Singularity, which pairs him with John Boyega and hits select theaters on Aug. 6.
As for John Wick 4, Skarsgård is one of several new additions joining Keanu Reeves along with Donnie Yen, Rina Sawayama, Hiroyuki Sanada, Scott Adkins, Marko Zaror and Shamier Anderson, while the sequel also brings back returning cast members Ian McShane, Lance Reddick and Laurence Fishburne. John Wick 4 will hit theaters on May 27, 2022. I'll see ya there!
