IT: WELCOME TO DERRY Will Both “Ruin and Explain” Pennywise’s Darkest Secrets
Fans of Stephen King’s It have been haunted for years by the cryptic terror that is Pennywise the Dancing Clown, and now Andy Muschietti is ready to pull back the curtain.
In the upcoming HBO Max horror prequel series It: Welcome to Derry, the director teases a terrifying and emotionally charged deep dive into the mythology behind the shape-shifting entity that stalks Derry, Maine.
Speaking to SFX Magazine, Muschietti teased what’s in store:
"It gets very emotional, it's a very compelling drama. Apart from the horror elements of It that are definitely augmented, we're going to have, if I may say it, an enhanced emotional experience at the end of it."
Set 27 years before the events of the 2017 film, the series jumps back to 1962 and will span several decades. It’s not just about the scares this time.
The prequel is designed to explore the disturbing origins of Pennywise, peeling back the layers on a character who’s long thrived in ambiguity.
According to Muschietti, Welcome to Derry won’t just build on the horror fans know. It’ll expand it and give fans answers they’ve waited decades for.
"We're hoping to get an engagement with the characters that is like no other before. You get horror at times 10 because we wanted to raise the bar in that sense.
“You also get a glimpse into a bigger mythology for people who love the book or love the movies. We're opening a window. Everything that we are setting up in season one, that will really manifest in two and three, is a look into all the bigger questions about It.
“'What does It want? Why is It here?' All the cryptic elements of It that we're going to ruin and explain."
They're going to "ruin and explain" everything that’s ever made Pennywise such a mystery, so that will be interesting.
Bill Skarsgård is back as Pennywise, and joining him are Jovan Adepo as Leroy Hanlon, Taylour Paige as Charlotte Hanlon, Chris Chalk as Dick Hallorann, Stephen Rider, and James Remar.
If some of those names sound familiar, it’s because the series is connecting deeper into the Stephen King universe. Dick Hallorann is the same shining-powered cook from The Shining, and there’s even a truck with Shawshank Prison on the side spotted in the trailer. It looks like we’re getting a full-on King multiverse vibe with this one.
The Muschiettis aren’t playing small either. The series is planned for three seasons, each one diving even further back in time: Season 1 is set in 1962, Season 2 in 1935, and Season 3 in 1908. The fear runs deep through Derry’s history.
Barbara Muschietti, who is producing the series alongside Andy, isn’t holding back on just how terrifying this is going to get.
"I would go as far as saying I think it is the most terrifying content ever made for television. I would say so."
With It: Welcome to Derry dropping on October 26, horror fans better brace themselves. This series promises to be more than just a trip back into the sewers.
It’s going to rip open the mythos of It in ways we’ve never seen before, answering long-standing questions and delivering a new level of psychological terror.
Get ready to find out what It really wants.