Every since IT came out, there have been plenty of fans who have compared it to A Nightmare on Elm Street. There was even a time when director Andy Muschietti considered having Pennywise transform into Freddy. That didn’t happen, but one late night host made sure the two child killers teamed up anyway. And thus, we have the hilarious parody you see below.
IT has become a much bigger hit than anyone ever expected. The movie has absolutely blasted past anyone’s wildest expectations and, as such, the Stephen King adaptation has become a major fixture in pop culture at the moment. So, James Corden decided to run with that on the latest episode of The Late Late Show and, with the help of Freddy Krueger, has created a hilarious parody of IT.
The sketch made its way online after debuting on The Late Show with James Corden. The host suits up as Pennywise the clown in the video. The premise of the sketch sees a man working in an office building who is having some computer trouble. So, he calls for some I.T., as in information technology, help with his issue. Some wires get crossed and instead Pennywise from IT shows up. But instead of trying to kill the poor guy, Pennywise decides to try and help with his issue.
James Corden plays Pennywise so straight-laced, that really runs in stark contrast to what Bill Skarsgard did in director Andy Muschietti’s IT. But that is part of what makes this parody so funny. Things get extra great once Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street shows up as the actual I.T. guy. It turns out that Krueger is trying to make a bit of a career change, but based on what we see in the video, he should probably stick to his day job. Or night job, for that matter. They actually do manage to slip in a pretty great joke about the computer being in sleep mode.
Interestingly enough, this isn’t the first we’ve heard of Pennywise the clown and Freddy Krueger crossing paths. Recently, Andy Muschietti revealed that he considered having Pennywise take the form of Freddy Krueger in IT. Since this new take on IT takes place in the 80s, that would have made sense in a way, since Pennywise takes the form of what his prey fears. It’s reasonable to assume a kid in the 80s would have a healthy fear of Freddy Krueger. However, Muschietti ultimately decided that putting the horror icon in the movie would have been too distracting. But perhaps not as distracting as the current trend that pairs Pennywise and The Babadook as Hollywood’s newest IT couple.
So far, IT has grossed $217 million worldwide and is poised to win its second weekend at the box office. That includes a massive $123 million opening weekend, which is second only to Deadpool for R-rated movies at the box office. So New Line is already moving forward with their plans for the IT sequel, which will bring back Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise the clown. Maybe that means we’ll get a second installment of this Pennywise and Freddy Krueger team-up when the sequel comes out in 2019? One can only hope. Be sure to check out the IT sketch from The Late Show with James Corden for yourself below.