Horror Welcome to Derry - HBO Max Developing IT Prequel Series

[:eek:]

Pennywise: Flashback (Welcome to Derry) 6" Posed Figure Gold Label

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[Pennywise]

Andy Muschietti Breaks Down Expanding the King Universe in ‘It: Welcome to Derry'

Stephen King’s shape-shifting Pennywise is back to haunt us in the prequel series 'It: Welcome to Derry'

www.tvinsider.com

After adapting Stephen King‘s It into a two-part film series in 2017, director Andy Muschietti knew there were parts of the book that still deserved screen time. So with the author’s blessing, he turned to one of the novel’s interludes about the hate crime burning of the Black Spot nightclub for the main plot of the first season.

“It’s a big paroxysm of violence that not only reflects the darkness of the story in the book, but also is a bit of a reflection of the violence that happened in America and all the implications of racial tension and segregation that happened back in those days,” he explains.

The series centers on the arrival of Charlotte and Leroy Hanlon (Taylour Paige and Jovan Adepo, respectively), ancestors of eventual Loser Club MVP Mike, who move to the town with their children just in time for the newest wave of disappearances to begin.

Also prominent is a younger Dick Hallorann (Chris Chalk), who was a key character in another King novel, The Shining, whose supernatural gift becomes a major part of Derry. “For us, it was a no-brainer,” Muschietti says of bringing him into the mix. “Dick was an outstanding character, not only because he’s in The Shining but also because [his] power is definitely ingrained in the story.”

James Remar, Stephen Rider, Madeleine Stowe, and Rudy Mancuso also star, and, of course, Bill Skarsgård reprises his role as the razor-toothed supernatural entity that’s the source of all of the gore.

Unlike the previous adaptations, where It preyed upon the personal fears of his victims, Muschietti drew upon the time period itself for inspiration. “There’s a new set of horrors, a collective fear, which is very tied to the era,” he says. “[In] ’62, America was in the middle of a Cold War, and people were very aware of the nuclear threat…. There’s a whole genre of movies from the late ’50s, which have the radioactive creature that mutated and turned into a monster, and also all the drills in school [for], ‘What do we do if there’s a nuclear attack?’ So I think kids were terrified of this thing.”

Other fears are generated by Muschietti’s own imagination. “Some are based on things that are more universal and things that are more particular, and the particular ones are the ones that creep me out.” Without spoiling what those are, let’s just say fans should brace for some very extreme body horror in the early episodes.

Muschietti (developing alongside Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs) also took the opportunity to delve into more of the mythology that surrounds It. “The purpose of the show, among others, is to open a window to the other side… and give the audience the feeling that everything they know about the book and stories and movies is just the tip of the iceberg,” Muschietti tells us. That includes peering into the broader Stephen King universe explored in The Dark Tower and how Pennywise and the ancient turtle, Maturin, play into that.

“Everything that is on the other side, it’s connected to the Dark Tower because it’s the same universe, the macroverse,” he explains. There are some limits on how much Welcome to Derry will get into — “Of course, being It, we are seeing all this from the perspective of humans, mostly,” he clarifies — but it will be a bigger view than previously seen in It and It: Chapter Two. “In this series, there will be more than speculation. We’re gonna have that and give the audience glimpses of the other side.”

One element of that will be exploring the history of the Neibolt House, the decrepit manor that the Losers Club kids in It venture into to find and fight Pennywise. “I’m very, very happy to go back ot Neibolt. It’s not only a house, but it’s also the gateway to It’s lair. It appears in Season 1 … and has a new meaning,” Muschietti teases.

If the series is renewed (there are plans for two more seasons), Welcome to Derrywill dive deeper into the history of the house — specifically, who built it and how it became such a horrific entity in the first place — while covering two other interludes that take place in 1935 and 1908. For now, though, prepare for many bloodcurdling thrills and Easter eggs throughout the nine-episode series, which will arrive on HBO just in time for the spooky season.

 

[Pennywise]

 

[Pennywise]

 

[squeekness]

Counting down the days!

 

[Sawyer]

He’s really back, folks.

 

[Art Vandelay]

I still hate that design.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Not really looking forward to this. I thought the first movie was painfully overrated and the second was a waste of time. But maybe this will do better.

 

[Pennywise]

 

[Lily Adler]

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Liked the references to other King works.

 

[Pennywise]

 

[:eek:]

Date & Length For Derry​

Posted: October 5, 2025, 14:35
Section: TV » Welcome To Derry
Date and length for the first 5 (out of 8) episodes of Welcome To Derry has been revealed.

Copied from Lilja's Library: Lilja's Library: The World of Stephen King

 

[Lily Adler]

View attachment 149807

Looks like AI to me. Look there's an extra hand.

 

[Drizzle]

It's wild to me that only one episode of this is airing before Halloween. Welcome to Derry and Task should have switched spots.

 

[Pennywise]

'Welcome to Derry' Will Make You Wait for Full Pennywise

Pennywise is up to his old tricks in 'Welcome to Derry,' but you won't always see him in his full, clown glory.

gizmodo.com

Talking to SFX Magazine, co-showrunner Andy Muschietti likened the clown’s appearances in the show to the shark in Jaws: “It’s very appropriate for a monster that is a shapeshifter to appear in several different shapes and manifestations before he shows up as a clown,” he said. “The idea is building tension around the apparition of a monster that we know already, and people are waiting – when is it going to appear?”

A simple idea, sure, but one Muschietti and his co-showrunner (and sister) Barbara say more than works for Welcome to Derry. The latter called the new creations cooked up for the show “pretty damn incredible” and “so much more” than what’s been seen in the trailers. Since every episode was made to “pack a punch,” the team strived to make these “new incarnations and fears” stand on their own while living up to the level of what was achieved in the two films.

“When [Pennywise] appears, it’s in a big way,” teased Andy Muschietti. He hopes the audience will find it “gratifying” when the cosmic entity does appear on screen, and we’ll see how that trick works when Welcome to Derry premieres October 26 on HBO.

Following his "very dark" roles in John Wick and Nosferatu, Bill Skarsgård "was a little hesitant" to play Pennywise again in It: Welcome to Derry

Exclusive: Director Andy Muschietti says Bill Skarsgård was convinced to join the It prequel by the show's exploration of Pennywise's backstory

www.gamesradar.com

It: Welcome to Derry sees Bill Skarsgård reprise the role of Pennywise the Clown, over 20 years (27 years, in fact…) before the events of the 2017 horror movie It – but the actor initially had his reservations about returning to the franchise.

"I think he was a little hesitant at the beginning to play It again because he is something that he did in the past," the show's director and executive producer Andy Muschietti says in the new issue ofSFX magazine, which features It: Welcome to Derry on the cover and hits newsstands on Wednesday, October 8.

"Also, at that point, when we started talking about the series as something that was real and tangible, he had played a lot of very dark characters, and he was a little hesitant to go into it again. Because, obviously, for someone that takes his work and his art so seriously as him, it takes a toll to live in the head of those characters for a long time. So he was a little hesitant at the beginning – and then something changed. I guess that we started again, going into it and discussing all the virtues of this new story and he decided to do it."

Since It, Skarsgård has starred in movies like Barbarian, The Crow, and Nosferatu, as well as playing the villain John Wick: Chapter 4 – not exactly a bundle of laughs. However, it was Welcome to Derry's exploration of Pennywise's origins as Bob Gray that convinced him to don the Dancing Clown's makeup again.

Executive producer Barbara Muschietti adds, "Because there was a lot more Bob Gray exploration, which we had talked to in the past, and we even had discussed making a third movie about Bob Gray before he was taken over by It and became Pennywise. This became a good little piece of candy to play with. We saw him having a really good time doing it. So it was nice to see him, especially in the Bob Gray moments when he's more distended, have fun."

 

[blueharvest]

 

[Pennywise]

‘IT: Welcome to Derry’ Spawns a Massive Merch Line Including Toys, Makeup & Clothing! [Exclusive]

One of the hottest new horror arrivals of the Halloween season is the premiere of HBO Original Series “IT: Welcome to Derry” on HBO and HBO Max on October 26, and while you wait, Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products is previewing their massive line of merch tied to the series...

bloody-disgusting.com

 

[Pennywise]

 

[Pennywise]

'It: Welcome to Derry' stars introduce the Hanlon family and horrors of the 1960s (exclusive)

Meet Mike Hanlons' grandparents. 'It: Welcome to Derry' stars Jovan Adepo and Taylour Paige introduce Leroy, Charlotte, and the world of 1960s horrors. Plus, exclusive photos!

ew.com

 

[Pennywise]

It: Welcome to Derry Creators and Cast Tease Pennywise's Return

Exclusive - It: Welcome to Derry creators Andy and Barbara Muschietti, and stars Jovan Adepo and Chris Chalk discuss evil's returns to Maine.

www.denofgeek.com

 

[Pennywise]

 

[Lily Adler]

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I always wondered if Robert Gray was an actual person and a victim of It that simply adopted his likeness and persona of Pennywise or did It come up with that by itself.

 

[:eek:]

It: Welcome to Derry Series’ Surprising Connection to Shawshank Redemption Revealed

Andy Muschietti recently spoke about IT: Welcome to Derry's connections to The Shining and The Shawshank Redemption.

www.comingsoon.net

 

[Sawyer]

Andy & Barbara Muschietti On ‘IT: Welcome To Derry’: “We Wanted To Raise The Bar Higher In Terms Of Shock Value”

Andy & Barbara Muschietti on expanding the 'IT' Universe with HBO Max's 'Welcome to Derry' Series.

deadline.com

The origin story of the series dates back to when It: Chapter 2 was being made. Bill Skarsgård — who plays the killer clown Pennywise and also Bob Gray, his human alias — was talking to Andy Muschietti, who was directing. “Bill and I were fantasizing about the character of Bob Gray and an origin story,” Andy says. “There was an enthusiasm to go back and explore the complexities of this character.”

IT has been adapted for the small screen before, with Tim Curry as Pennywise in the 1990 miniseries for U.S. network ABC. The new series takes a different tack, drawing inspiration from a series of five sections of King’s novel dubbed ‘The Interludes’, which delve into the history of Derry and a series of catastrophes that occur every few decades when IT awakens.

Deadline is a spoiler-free zone, but before the opening credits of the first episode of IT: Welcome to Derry, there is a scene destined to leave a lasting impression. It is both graphic and ingenious and sums up the tone and ambition of the series.

“We wanted to raise the bar higher in terms of shock value,” Andy says of the scene. “It’s about a self-imposed mandate of opening with an event that is shocking enough that you put the audience in a position where nothing is taken for granted, where nothing is safe in this world. You’re immediately putting people on the edge of the seat. We needed a strong opening. One of the things I love about this scene is the build-up. Of course, it has a big, graphic and shocking conclusion, but the build-up is something that was important.”

On screen, the titular town in IT: Welcome to Derry is a painstakingly constructed slice of American life in the early 1960s. It is also shown in the series’ remarkable credits. These start with different illustrations of down-home life that gradually give way to drawings of fires, mayhem and syringes plunged into eyeballs as a saccharin-sweet song from sisterly duo Patience and Prudence plays.

In the series, there’s a nearby military base and secrets seep out of that facility, and seemingly every corner of the town. Fear of nuclear war and its effects are close to the surface.

“It was very exciting to explore what the ’60s were in America, and what fear was and what kids were afraid of,” Andy says. “It was the Cold War and kids in school were performing drills in case of a nuclear explosion. You can’t imagine the state of paranoia. People were asking, ‘Is there going to be a nuclear explosion tomorrow? What are we going to do? Will there be people with birth defects?’ It was very exciting to think of those ripples.”



With Season 1 yet to drop on streaming, there is no official order or news of subsequent runs. But the Muschiettis hope to welcome people to Derry over several seasons. “There is an intentional bigger arc that will open,” Andy says. “My intention with this was to create a story that is a little bit like an iceberg under the water all through Seasons 1, 2 and 3. There will be an expansion in the mythology and more answers to the big questions.” The plan is to go further back in time, he reveals. “The second season will be in 1935. At the end of Season 1, we are hinting at the reason why we are going to tell the story in two more seasons and backwards.”

 

[Pennywise]