“IT: Welcome to Derry” Trailer Reveals Pennywise‘s Dark Origins
A new trailer has dropped for HBO’s IT: welcome to Derry, a nine-episode prequel series delving into the history of Pennywise the Clown and the cursed town of Derry. The series, directed by Andy Muschietti-who helmed the blockbuster adaptations of Stephen King’s IT-promises to explore the events that shaped the ancient evil before the stories depicted in the 2017 and 2019 films.
The IT films, starring Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise, collectively grossed over $1 billion worldwide. The first film, released in 2017, followed a group of children-known as The Losers Club-who confront Pennywise after a series of disappearances in Derry. IT: Chapter Two, released in 2019, revisited the characters 27 years later for a final showdown. While the films adapted a notable portion of King’s novel, they omitted key flashback sequences detailing Derry’s dark past. Welcome to Derry aims to fill in those gaps, beginning with events in 1962.
The prequel series will initially focus on a tragedy featured in IT: Chapter Two: the arson of the black Spot nightclub, owned by Will hanlon (Isaiah Mustafa and Chosen Jacobs in the films), at the hands of local white supremacists. Muschietti has revealed plans for three seasons,with subsequent installments set in 1935 and 1908,tracing Pennywise’s cyclical return to Derry. “There’s a reason why the story is told backwards,” Muschietti stated, hinting at a purposeful unraveling of the evil’s origins. IT: Welcome to Derry is scheduled to debut on HBO in October.
