New Line’s upcoming take on Stephen King’s terrifying clown classic It has been through a lot. Director Cary Fukunaga—who had been working on the project for three or four years—abruptly quit three weeks before he was supposed to begin shooting. Fukunaga was then replaced with horror director Andy Muschietti, given a fresh script—and now, at long last, the movie may have a star. Bill Skarsgard—brother to Alexander and son to Stellan—will be smothering his high nordic cheekbones in some freakish white paint to play Pennywise the clown. What a shame; these features are a terrible thing to waste.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 25 year-old Skarsgard is in final negotiations to take over the role Fukunaga originally gave to actor Will Poulter. This news may not be much of a letdown for Poulter who seemed pretty attached to his original director. “I don’t know. I don’t know,” he said in January when asked whether he was still attached to the project. “I was when Mr. Fukunaga was directing, but the circumstances at New Line are such that a new director’s attached now. I think, with all due respect to him of course, I was selected by Cary and subscribed to Cary’s vision for the movie, and so I haven’t had a chance to connect with that [new] director.”

Though it’s unclear how much of Fukunaga’s original vision will remain, the decision to skew young with Pennywise is a hold-over from the earlier production. Pennywise was originally played by a more grown-up Tim Curry, but Fukunaga reportedly cast 23-year-old Poulter over veteran actors like Mark Rylance and Ben Mendelsohn.

Producer Roy Lee confirmed to Collider that Muschietti and co-writer Gary Dauberman are sticking with Fukunaga’s two-movie plan. “It is very close to the source material in one way, but very different if you look at it as a literary piece of work,” he explained of the new script, which will likely get an R-rating. “We’re taking it and making the movie from the point of view of the kids, and then making another movie from the point of view of the adults, that could potentially then be cut together like the novel. But it’s gonna be a really fun way of making this movie.”

Skarsgard has plenty of horror chops after playing a half-human/half-upir (not to be confused with brother Alexander’s famous turn as a True Blood vampire) for three seasons on Hemlock Grove.

For It, Skarsgard will have to be a less seductive bloodsucker and more of a cackling, painted nightmare. Surely he’s up to the challenge.