Toys - Pennywise by Hot Toys : the ultimate collectible of cinematic terror

By Mulder, 24 october 2025

Few horror icons have achieved the enduring cultural resonance of Pennywise the Dancing Clown, and even fewer have been captured with such obsessive attention to detail as this new 1/6th scale collectible figure from Hot Toys. Emerging once more from the sewers of Derry, this figure is not merely a tribute to Stephen King’s literary nightmare, but a striking embodiment of the twisted vision brought to life by Bill Skarsgård under the direction of Andy Muschietti in It Chapter Two. Measuring approximately 32.5 cm in height and boasting over 30 points of articulation, the figure transforms the essence of fear itself into a tangible work of art—something both exquisite and unsettling to behold. Hot Toys has long specialized in blurring the line between craftsmanship and character resurrection, and here, under the art direction of JC. Hong and the sculpting mastery of Viva Lai, the results verge on the uncanny.

What sets this rendition apart is its profound movie accuracy—right down to the sinister micro-cracks on Pennywise’s forehead and the eerie glimmer in his demonic yellow eyes. The box reveals two newly developed head sculpts: one smiling with dreadful amusement, the other exposing a nightmare maw of layered fangs, almost alive in its malice. The reddish-orange hair, carved in frazzled tufts, gives an illusion of perpetual motion—as if the creature could start twitching at any moment. The costume, inspired by Janie Bryant’s film design, fuses Renaissance grace with decay: a silvery-gray puffed-sleeve shirt, layered wrist wraps, and an aged lace collar evoke an antiquated elegance that heightens the figure’s morbid aura. Even the weathering effects—each fade and stain on the fabric—suggest the centuries Pennywise has lingered beneath Derry, waiting for children’s laughter to turn into screams.

The accessories extend the storytelling beyond the sculpt, making the piece feel like a scene frozen mid-terror. The crimson balloon, both iconic and ironic, floats from his white-gloved hand, while the infamous paper boat—Georgie Denbrough’s final toy—sits as a reminder of innocence devoured. The diorama base, designed by Studio HIVE, represents a sewer grate glistening with translucent water, suggesting the threshold between two worlds: the one above, filled with false safety, and the one below, where Pennywise reigns eternal. The inclusion of a severed arm, skateboard, and Jack-in-the-Box with a miniature clown further elevate the sense of dread; they serve as fragmented memories of victims and childhood itself.

To understand why Hot Toys’ Pennywise is such an achievement, one must trace the lineage of fear back to its literary origin. Stephen King, while walking across a Colorado bridge in the mid-1980s, envisioned a troll-like creature haunting a sewer—a twisted take on “Three Billy Goats Gruff.” What emerged was It (1986), a “final exam on horror,” as King described it, designed to confront readers with every childhood nightmare at once. Through decades of adaptation, from Tim Curry’s charming menace in the 1990 miniseries to Bill Skarsgård’s alien horror in It Chapter Two, the character evolved with each generation’s anxieties. Scholars like Tony Magistrale and Margaret J. Yankovich later read It as a mirror of small-town complicity, where Derry’s collective silence allows evil to thrive. This figure, in its sculpted precision, captures that tension perfectly—beauty masking rot, playfulness concealing hunger.

The aesthetic direction of Andy Muschietti’s films reinvented Pennywise as an ancient creature cloaked in 19th-century attire, and Hot Toys’ adaptation channels that same antiquarian unease. Each ruffle and stitch evokes a different historical ghost: Medieval collars meet Victorian melancholy, as if the clown himself has worn the fashions of every century he has haunted. The look aligns with the director’s intent to portray Pennywise not as a modern circus clown but as an ancient predator that merely uses the clown as camouflage. This interpretation continues to expand through the upcoming HBO prequel series It: Welcome to Derry, again helmed by Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, and Jason Fuchs, with Bill Skarsgård returning to the role. The series promises to explore the creature’s origin in 1908, 1935, and 1962, asking why such evil remains rooted in one town. For fans, Hot Toys’ Pennywise is not just a collectible—it’s a prelude, a reminder of the horrors that will soon crawl back onto screens.

What’s striking about this collectible, beyond its craftsmanship, is how it visually channels the psychology of Pennywise himself. The two head sculpts embody duality—the mask and the monster. His smile, meticulously sculpted by Viva Lai, freezes the very moment before violence, while the fanged expression transforms mirth into predation. The severed arm accessory echoes the infamous opening scene of It (2017), where Georgie’s paper boat leads him to his doom. Holding that accessory, one almost relives the creeping dread of Bill Skarsgård’s first appearance in the storm drain—a performance so unnerving that even Stephen King admitted it was “too scary, even for me.”

The figure also mirrors the layered symbolism surrounding Pennywise. As critics like Whitney S. May and Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni Berns note, the clown represents not only individual fear but collective moral decay—the way communities ignore abuse until it becomes monstrous. Through its artistry, Hot Toys’ creation transforms that concept into sculpture: every crack, stain, and ruffle tells of time, denial, and recurrence. The sewer grate base itself becomes a metaphor for repression—the boundary where what’s buried beneath society momentarily surfaces to devour.

In hand, Hot Toys’ Pennywise is unsettling not only for its realism but for its stillness. The way his head tilts, the gloved fingers curl, the balloon leans slightly toward the viewer—it evokes the uncomfortable feeling that he’s watching. The realism is so absolute that it blurs the collector’s role: are you admiring art, or inviting something ancient into your room? The artisanship of Viva Lai and JC. Hong ensures that even the smallest elements—the sheen of the eyes, the faint metallic patina on the boots—catch the light like living flesh. It’s a masterclass in translating psychological terror into material precision.

As anticipation builds for It: Welcome to Derry, this figure arrives as both an artifact and a warning—a reminder of how fascination and fear intertwine. When Benjamin Wallfisch’s haunting score returns in the upcoming series, and Bill Skarsgård once again stretches that impossible smile, this Hot Toys Pennywise will already be there, waiting, red balloon in hand. Collectors may tell themselves it’s just vinyl and fabric, but deep down, they know better. After all, as the creature once whispered: “For 27 years, I dreamt of you. I craved you. I’ve missed you.”

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Synopsis : 
Strange events unfold in the town of Derry in the 1960s involving Pennywise the clown, a mysterious character who haunts Derry.

It: Welcome to Derry
Directed by Andy Muschietti
Showrunners : Jason Fuchs, Brad Caleb Kane
Executive producers : Jason Fuchs, Brad Caleb Kane, Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, Shelley Meals, Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Bill Skarsgård
Producers : Lyn Lucibellon Sarah Rath
Written by Jason Fuchs, Austin Guzman, Guadalis Del Carmen, Gabe Hobson, Helen Shang, Brad Caleb Kane, Cord Jefferson, Brad Caleb Kane
Based on Characters by Stephen King
Developed by Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, Jason Fuchs
Starring  Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, Blake Cameron James, Chris Chalk, James Remar, Stephen Rider, Madeleine Stowe, Rudy Mancuso, Clara Stack, Amanda Christine, Mikkal Karim-Fidler, Bill Skarsgård
Cinematography :  Rasmus Heise
Edited by Esther Sokolow, Glenn Garland, Matthew V. Colonna
edited by (as Matthew V. Ace Colonna) / (as Matthew Colonn
Music by  Benjamin Wallfisch
Production companies : HBO, Warner Bros. Television, Double Dream, FiveTen Productions
Release dates :  October 2, 2025 (United States), 
Running time : 8 episodes

Photos and video : Boris Colletier / Mulderville