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Pennywise the Clown is back. It: Welcome to Derry is an upcoming horror series that is a prequel to the hit movies, It and It Chapter Two, and explores the world of Derry, where Pennywise haunts.
Based on the novel by Stephen King, It: Welcome to Derry takes place 27 years before the events of the movies and is set to premiere on HBO Max on October 26, 2025. Developed by Andy and Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs, Brad Caleb Kane and Fuchs are the showrunners of It: Welcome to Derry.
With news of Bill Skarsgård coming back to portray his iconic role of Pennywise in It: Welcome to Derry, the creators of the show sat down for an interview with Screen Rant and talked about the hype around his portrayal and why his character will be introduced later in It: Welcome to Derry.
Andy Muschietti notes,
"This is a slow burn; You'll understand that the buildup and anticipation is intentional as we delay the appearance of the clown."
It: Welcome to Derry, creators talk about the character of Pennywise and his delayed appearance in the show
While fans of the movies and the novel are looking forward to seeing Pennywise and the haunted town of Derry once again, news about the terrifying clown appearing later in It: Welcome to Derry has also gained a lot of interest, and fans want to know why Pennywise will have a delayed debut on screen.
In an interview with Screen Rant, executive producers Andy and Barbara Muschietti talk about how they are going to delve deeper into Pennywise’s past and how they want to introduce his character.
The producer-director pair is the creator behind the two movies and the upcoming series, and Barbara notes that they have always kept the character of Pennywise unpredictable. Therefore, they never want the viewers to get comfortable with his character. For Barbara, Pennywise is “our shark”. She remarks,
"You've got to bring him out with all his complexity in the right moments, otherwise It loses its power.
Ultimately, Andy notes that,
"this is a slow burn; You'll understand that the buildup and anticipation are intentional as we delay the appearance of the clown." For Andy, “he’s there, but he’s not...or he’s not there, but he is.”
In the same interview, showrunner Brad Caleb Kane also talks about why Pennywise appears later in It: Welcome to Derry. He notes that both the movies are “full of Pennywise” and therefore, It: Welcome to Derry is more about exploring the “forms” of Pennywise.
"The benefit of long-form storytelling is that we can spend a little bit more time on the other forms that Pennywise can take to scare the characters, and you can delve more deeply into the characters," Kane notes.
However, Kane agrees that one has to “portion out Bill.” According to Kane, this buildup will ultimately pay off for the viewers as
“when we do find him again, and we do use him, it'll be spectacular. And it'll be a lot more brutal than anything you've ever seen in the movie.”
Andy and Barbara Muschietti talk about how they came up with It: Welcome to Derry and the future of the show
In an interview with Deadline, the creators of the show reveal that the idea for It: Welcome to Derry came up during It: Chapter 2 when Bill Skarsgård was talking to Andy Muschietti about Pennywise’s human alias Bob Gray and his origins.
“There was an enthusiasm to go back and explore the complexities of this character,” Andy notes.
Further, he says that he loves the book by Stephen King, and as a reader, he wants to explore all the “mysteries and question marks in it” and explore the “mystery of IT. What is IT? What does IT want?”
He further notes that even though he has never worked for TV, he does admire the medium as it allows more time to “tell a story.” It allows the viewers to delve deeper into the characters and the lore. Therefore, the pair already has plans to create more seasons.
“My intention with this was to create a story that is a little bit like an iceberg under the water all through Seasons 1, 2 and 3. There will be an expansion in the mythology and more answers to the big questions.”
Further, he notes that he wants to go back in time as
“The second season will be in 1935. At the end of Season 1, we are hinting at the reason why we are going to tell the story in two more seasons and backwards.”
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It: Welcome to Derry will be available on HBO Max.
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