TV-MOVIES

Why Stephen King's Theory About Two Of His Villains Has Twitter Buzzing

By TOMMY MCARDLE

Two of Stephen King's most famous and most evil villains, Pennywise and Randall Flagg, are notable for crossing over into other works. They are largely tied together in King’s epic series “The Dark Tower,” but one recent Twitter post from King has fans reframing previous conceptions of both characters.

Stephen King recently posted a tweet in response to a ScreenRant piece debating whether Pennywise or Randall Flagg is his greatest villain and floated the idea that the two characters are actually the same. King's work often suggests that evil and fear take many names, yet only exist as one entity, so it’s easy to see where he’s coming from.

Pennywise, aka "IT," is an ancient, shapeshifting being whose age predates human civilization and exists in eternal opposition to Maturin the Turtle, a near-immortal being who helps hold the entire universe together. Flagg, on the other hand, is some sort of demon-human hybrid who uses supernatural abilities to influence characters and create conflict.