Will Poulter was "emotionally attached" to the ‘IT’ remake before Cary Fukunaga’s departure.
The 24-year-old actor was in the frame to play the evil, child murdering clown Pennywise in the remake of Stephen King’s horror novel, but he jumped ship after Fukunaga stepped down as director and he felt the production was going in a "different direction".
Speaking to The Times newspaper, the actor said: "I was very emotionally attached to the project that Cary was captaining, but when he left I felt that it was going in a different direction.
"It was four weeks away from shooting, and I was two weeks away from going to New York for rehearsals."
Poulter, instead, joined Kathryn Bigelow’s new movie ‘Detroit’, playing a racist police officer during the real life race riots in the US city during the 1960s.
Following on from his performance in ‘Detroit’, the actor wants his movies to have an "impact" on society in a positive way.
He said: "I want my films to try and impact society in a positive way.
"Escaping the stresses of your micro-environment is a legitimate reason to spend two hours at the movies.
"But it’s not responsible to have the year filled up with firework displays every week on the cinema screen. It’s important to have responsible, socially impactful films.
"And that, really, is my main goal."
He also believes ‘Detroit’ bears resemblance to Donald Trump’s America, particularly following the white supremacy marches in Charlottesville.
The actor said: "I think we’ve made a point of drawing attention to the relevance that this film bears to Trump’s America.
"Just look at Charlottesville. So long as we have people like Trump in positions of power the systems of white supremacy are never going to be dismantled."
The role of Pennywise ultimately went to ‘Allegiant’ star Bill Skarsgard, 26, and ‘IT’ is due to be released next month.
Will Poulter ’emotionally attached’ to IT remake
