It: Welcome To Derry, the upcoming HBO Max series dives deep into the sinister origins of Derry, Maine, the cursed town that gave rise to Pennywise the Clown.
At the premiere event, Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti, the Argentine-born filmmaking duo behind the It films, revealed how their new prequel series reflects more than just horror fiction. It’s a haunting mirror of real-world fear and manipulation.
The Muschiettis developed the series alongside Jason Fuchs, who also serves as showrunner with Brad Caleb Kane.
Andy directs several episodes and executive produces the show. While Welcome To Derry draws directly from Stephen King’s 1986 horror masterpiece, Andy says its themes cut much deeper than supernatural scares.
“My sister and I grew up in a dictatorship, and guess what? It was f*cking horrible. Even when it was ended and finished we still could see the ripples and consequences of the suffering and the pain. The dictatorship ended — they always do, and they always will. It ended badly.”
He went on to explain how King’s story continues to resonate decades later.
“When Stephen King wrote It, he was writing a masterpiece of horror and a coming of age story, but also it was a parable of fear mongering and the weaponizing of fear in the real world.
“That metaphor about fear mongering was very relevant when he wrote it, but somehow it seems much more relevant in the days that we’re living now.
“So that’s why I like to consider the show as a reminder that, if you believe in empathy and love, we can keep together and stand up against the violence and intimidation and cruelty that these f*cking clowns are bestowing upon us.”
Just like King’s original novel, Welcome To Derry blends the supernatural with sharp social commentary. The series will explore the origins of Derry’s cyclical terror, and the evil that takes root in communities when fear is allowed to spread. According to Muschietti, “There’s a reason why the story is told backwards.”
The first season begins in 1962, setting the stage before the events of It: Chapter One. Future seasons will dig even deeper into Derry’s bloody history, with Season 2 taking place in 1935 and Season 3 going all the way back to 1908.
The narrative structure is inspired by the interludes in King’s book, sections that follow Mike Hanlon’s meticulous research into the town’s violent past.
“The interludes are basically chapters that reflect Mike Hanlon’s research… fragments of his research. For 27 years, it’s the guy trying to figure out what it is, what did it, who did it, who saw it, and all that stuff.”
Each season will spotlight one of Pennywise’s 27-year cycles of terror, using major historical tragedies as key storylines. Muschietti teased some of the events fans can expect:
“They talk about catastrophic events from the past, like the fire in the Black Spot… the massacre of the Bradley Gang, a gang of bank robbers in the ’30s… and the explosion of the Kitchener Ironworks.”
He confirmed that these dark chapters will form the backbone of the series:
“We are basing the three seasons of this series on each of these catastrophic events.”
With It: Welcome To Derry, the Muschiettis aren’t just revisiting King’s horror classic, they’re expanding it into an epic, generational story about fear itself. As Andy put it, this isn’t just about monsters in the sewer. It’s about the monsters that thrive when fear takes hold of a society.
It: Welcome To Derry premieres October 26 on HBO Max.
Source: Deadline
