The upcoming HBO seriesWelcome to Derrywill return fans ofStephen King’sITinto the world of Pennywise the Clown, expanding on one of the most popular stories of the horror master’s prolific career. Following the success of Andy Muschietti’s two-part adaptation ofIT– which released in 2017 and 2019, respectively – the new series is looking to forge its own path throughthe history of the small town Pennywise terrorizedevery three decades, with Muschietti developing the series with sister Barbara and Jason Fuchs.
It: Welcome to Derry
In a recent interview withScreen Rant, director Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr. shared his thoughts on bringing the story of Derry to life in a new way for television. This means that there are many opportunities to build a much longer, more character-driven story, while maintaining the kind of terror that the original story delivered. He said:
“Ah, I can’t really talk about that. But I will say it’s a TV show. So, you learn more about the characters, it’s very, very character-driven. I’ve enjoyed preparing for that show, and I think audiences will be as scared as they are in the original movies, and Andy Muschietti’s handprints are all over this series. So, I think people will be very excited for the series. [Mike Flanagan and Andy Muschietti] are quite similar. Both Andy and Mike are horror aficionados, they’re also very much all about emotion, and character.”
Of course, pulling back the curtain on the enigmatic evil of Pennywise could either work or undo the power of the character, but it seems that the series is in the best hands.
Welcome To Derry Taps into the Popularity of King’s Characters
There have been very few details revealed about the upcomingITprequel series, but there is a belief that the series will expand on the lore of the ancient evil that is Pennywise, incorporating what King revealed in the door-stopper of a novel and adding to it. As one of the mostinstantly recognizable villains of the author’s creation, the history of where Pennywise originated has only been touched on in the 1990 miniseries and two-part movie.
The entity that is a self-professed “eater of worlds” is millions of years old in King’s novel, having arrived on Earth long in the past, and lain dormant underground until Derry was built in 1715. From then, IT awoke every three decades to feast on the children of Derry, and instill a sense of fear and dread on the small town. The new series could delve into some of this ancient history of the character, with it being previously confirmed that the origin of Pennywise will feature in the show, but the main setting for the story will be the 1960s.
It Prequel Series Welcome to Derry Teases First Look in HBO Sizzle Reel
Upcoming prequel series Welcome to Derry dives deep into It’s legacy, and a first looks teases new horrors to come.
While King never wrote a prequel to IT, the span of his novel was different to that of Muschietti’s movie version, which told the same story but shifted everything forward in time by 30 years.Welcome To Derry’s position in the 1960s suggests that it will be set right at the end of Pennywise’s previous awakening to that which features in the novel and first part of the movie. A short synopsis reads,“Set in the 1960s, four kids in a town bordering an Air Force base with a mysterious “Special Projects” bunker search for a friend of theirs who disappeared mysteriously.”
Welcome to Derrywill debut on Max later this year, but currently has no set release date.
