Bill Skarsgård broke fans’ hearts this weekend when he revealed that he is not involved in the upcoming It prequel series.

In an interview with Jake’s Takes, the John Wick 4 star shared that he “is not currently involved” in the developing series. But he had some advice to share with whoever takes over his iconic role.

“If someone else gets to do it my advice would just be: Do it your own, make it your own, have fun with it,” he said. “What I thought was so pleasurable about that character was how incredibly abstract he was.”

Skarsgård, who has a proven knack for horror, artfully played the killer clown in the film remakes It and It Chapter Two.

News of the series first broke in March 2022 when The Ankler revealed a prequel series called Welcome to Derry was being developed at HBO. The report claimed the series will explore Pennywise’s origins as well as the dawn of the curse haunting the fictional Maine town.

Though little else was known at the time about the series, they reported that “an honest to god writer’s room is being/has been convened for the project.”

But it wasn’t until this February that HBO Max formally announced the prequel series. According to a release from the streamer, the television series is being developed by Andy Muschietti and his sister Barbara Muschietti (who produced the two remake films) and It Chapter Two co-producer Jason Fuchs. According to HBO’s statement, the prequel series will “bring fans deeper into the terrifying, mesmerizing town of Derry.”

Andy Muschietti is set to direct multiple episodes of the series, including the pilot episode.

Stephen King even gave his blessing to this expansion of his universe, saying in a statement at the time, “I’m excited that the story of Derry, Maine’s most haunted city, is continuing, and I’m glad Andy Muschietti is going to be overseeing the frightening festivities, along with a brain trust including his talented sister, Barbara.”

And in a testament to just how popular the last two It films were, fans were devastated to hear Skarsgård will not be returning to the role after witnessing his delightful twist on Pennywise.

“If Bill Skarsgard is not Pennywise in the Welcome to Derry series, I’m not watching!!” one user tweeted.

“My excitement is gone. Bill Skarsgard is fantastic as Pennywise, and I don’t know who will be able to top his performance,” someone else wrote.

The series appears to still be early in development with no recent updates regarding casting or production.

Even with King’s blessing, will they be able to deliver a compelling continuation to the story without Skarsgård? We’ve got our fingers crossed.