2017–2021: Further success and recognition
In July 2017, Wolfhard co-directed his first music video with Josh Ovalle for the band Spendtime Palace's song "Sonora". Wolfhard made his feature film debut playing Richie Tozier in the 2017 film adaptation of Stephen King's It. The casting of Wolfhard in both Stranger Things and It, both set in the 1980s, had been a coincidence. According to Wolfhard, he had been initially cast as Richie when Cary Fukunaga was attached as director and co-writer, but when Fukunaga left the project over creative differences, the role fell through which allowed him to pursue Stranger Things. Once Andy Muschietti became attached to It, Wolfhard had to re-audition for the role of Richie.
In October 2017, Wolfhard parted ways with his former agency, APA, and fired former agent Tyler Grasham following allegations that Grasham had sexually assaulted aspiring young male actors. Wolfhard himself had not been assaulted. In January 2018, Wolfhard signed with Creative Artists Agency. He played Tyler, an altruistic and thoughtful pizza delivery boy, in the 2018 Ken Marino-directed ensemble comedy film, Dog Days.
In January 2019, Wolfhard starred in the Netflix animated series Carmen Sandiego as "Player", the title character's chief accomplice and friend. In May, he made his modeling debut in Saint Laurent's Fall/Winter '19 campaign. He reprised his role as young Richie in flashbacks for the sequel It Chapter Two (2019), and co-starred in The Goldfinch (2019), the John Crowley-directed adaptation of Donna Tartt's novel, playing Young Boris Pavlikovsky, a Ukrainian student and troublemaker. Wolfhard had not been Crowley's first choice as he wanted to cast an authentic Russian actor for Boris, but Wolfhard's near perfect Russian accent in his audition helped him get the role. Wolfhard also provided the voice of Pugsley Addams in an animated remake of The Addams Family. From 2017 to 2019, he was listed in Variety's Hollywood Youth Impact Report. In 2018 and 2019, The Hollywood Reporter named him as one of the top 30 stars under age 18.
In January 2020, Wolfhard portrayed Miles in the supernatural horror film The Turning, an adaptation of Henry James' novella The Turn of the Screw, and co-starred in the anthology film Omniboat: A Fast Boat Fantasia (2020). Wolfhard then starred in the Jeremy Schaulin-Rioux–directed short film, Rules for Werewolves (2020), based on playwright and novelist Kirk Lynn's adapted screenplay from his debut novel, which is set to become a feature-length film with Wolfhard attached to star.
He lent his voice to two Adult Swim productions: the animated series, Smiling Friends and the animated series JJ Villard's Fairy Tales as Boypunzel, a gender-swapped version of Rapunzel. Wolfhard joined the Jason Reitman–directed comedy miniseries Home Movie: The Princess Bride, which raised money for World Central Kitchen, and performed a live reading of The Princess Bride's script, as the Grandson, for a Democratic Party of Wisconsin charity event in September 2020.
At the age of 17, Wolfhard made his directorial debut with the comedy short film, Night Shifts (2020). He released the film on YouTube the following year. Wolfhard co-starred in the Audible Original, When You Finish Saving the World (2020), written by Jesse Eisenberg. He narrates Ziggy Katz, a 15-year-old boy recording audio sessions to a futuristic bot therapist. The audiobook was adapted by Eisenberg into the comedy-drama film When You Finish Saving the World (2022), with Julianne Moore and Wolfhard starring as mother and son. In July 2020, it was announced that Wolfhard and his brother Nick would be headlining the voice cast of sci-fi animated series NEW-GEN, playing twin brothers. Wolfhard was included in Forbes 30 Under 30 class of 2020 in the field of Hollywood and entertainment.
Wolfhard co-starred with Carrie Coon in Jason Reitman's Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), playing the son of Coon's single mother. He was cast alongside Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson, and Helena Zengel in A24's fantasy epic The Legend of Ochi, directed by Isaiah Saxon. In November 2021, he announced that he is working on directing a feature-length film, Hell of a Summer. In 2022, Wolfhard joined Guillermo del Toro's stop-motion animated musical film Pinocchio.
