Everything We Know About HBO’s New Series It: Welcome To Derry
The terrifying world of It returns: following the monster success (no pun intended) of the 2017 film and the sequel It: Chapter Two. We’re going back to Derry this year, with a story set before The Losers Club encountered Pennywise. It: Welcome to Derry is a TV miniseries currently in the works at HBO and will be released in the UK as a Sky Exclusive, and sees Bill Skarsgård (Nosferatu) reprise his role as the evil clown. Here’s everything we know so far:
What is It: Welcome to Derry about?
A quick recap for those unfamiliar with perhaps Stephen King’s most famous horror creation: It is set in Derry, a small town in Maine, and follows the members of the self-proclaimed “Losers Club” as both teens and adults. The group is terrorised by the titular It, also known as Pennywise, a malevolent being that takes the form of a particularly creepy-looking clown. The two-part film series, which starred the likes of Finn Wolfhard, Sophia Lillis, Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy and Bill Hader was hugely successful at the box office and went viral on social media- so it’s no surprise Warner Brothers was keen to green-light a sequel. It: Welcome to Derry takes place in the same troubled town, with a new cast and set of characters, save for Skarsgård returning as Pennywise.
There are few details revealed as of yet of the exact plot, but It aficionados will be excited to hear that the HBO/Sky series will delve more into the backstory of Derry, with the action taking place in the 1960s (the films were set in the 80s and 2010s). The story draws on King’s original novel as well as expanding it and will explore how Pennywise came to be, as well as the town’s apparently cursed nature. Child disappearances, odd happenings and the secretive nature of the residents had all been hinted at during the films, so expect to learn a lot more about Derry and its history by the end of the series.
What else do we know, and is there a release date?
It: Welcome to Derry is being developed by Andy Muschietti, who helmed the feature films, and stars a cast that includes Jovan Adepo (His Three Daughters), Chris Chalk (The Newsroom), James Remar (Sex and the City), Stephen Rider (Daredevil) and Madeleine Stowe (12 Monkeys), alongside Bill Skarsgård. A brief teaser trailer was recently released by Sky, giving a glimpse at the chilling events to come, and featuring a few nods to the films. It: Welcome to Derry is set to release in late 2025.
