"First episode is terrifying" - Shortly before IT: Welcome to Derry premiere, Stephen King drops early reaction to his horror adaptation

Stephen King has shared his thoughts on HBO Max’s upcoming IT prequel, Welcome to Derry. Taking to social media, the author described the first episode as “terrifying.”

Notably, this comes from the person who created Pennywise in the first place, making the highly anticipated series a little more ominous. King isn’t known for sugarcoating his opinions about adaptations of his work. In fact, he has roasted a few of them in the past. So, his stamp of approval is the horror world’s version of a golden ticket.

IT: Welcome to Derry is set to drop on October 26, 2025, at 9 p.m. ET. The series acts as both a prequel and an expansion of King’s infamous 1986 novel. The Muschietti siblings, Andy and Barbara, are back, along with Jason Fuchs. These are the same names that helped craft the modern IT films.

The show is taking us deep into Derry’s rotten core, unraveling the twisted history that made Pennywise the nightmare he is.

Stephen King’s early reaction to IT: Welcome to Derry

Stephen King took to Threads to share:

“WELCOME TO DERRY is amazing. First episode is terrifying.”

Stephen King’s reaction to Welcome to Derry is precise, and it echoes through the whole horror fandom. His blessing to the show is a big deal, considering King is not shy about dragging adaptations that don’t live up to his books.

Previously, he didn’t approve much of Firestarter, Dreamcatcher, Graveyard Shift, The Dark Tower, or even The Shining. King is usually the first to call out something that doesn’t go with his vision. But this time, he is totally in the show’s corner.

In fact, Stephen King was involved in the creative process. The creators, Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, and Jason Fuchs, reportedly sought his approval on occasion. The team worked to earn King’s trust by inviting him to provide feedback during production.

Plus, the showmakers are not milking the IT name for nostalgia points. Welcome to Derry is a full-on expansion of the universe, but still anchored to both the original book and the movies.

Muschietti has revealed that the show will rewind through time. We start in 1962, slide back to 1935, and then all the way to 1908, with each season peeling back another layer of Derry’s cursed history. It’s a Pennywise origin tour, with all the spine-chilling details. Three seasons feature three different eras of terror, all tying back to the cyclical nightmare the town can never quite escape.

What is IT: Welcome to Derry about?

Welcome to Derry takes us to 1962, before King’s IT kicks off its legendary carnage. Derry’s past is not just Pennywise lurking in sewers; this show wants you to know all the ugly breadcrumbs he has been dropping for generations.

That means we are set to experience flashbacks and delve into historical depths. The infamous Black Spot fire is a whole episode. The Kitchener Ironworks blowing sky-high, the Bradley Gang massacre also echoes with Pennywise’s hunger and twisted glee.

The cast involves Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, James Remar, Stephen Rider, Madeleine Stowe, and Rudy Mancuso. They are fresh faces, with their own baggage, secrets, and probably a death wish for moving to Derry in the first place. Of course, Bill Skarsgård slips right back into his Pennywise skin because who else could nail that perfect cocktail of nightmare fuel and circus freak?

The turns Derry into a living, breathing thing, haunted by an evil that doesn’t even try to hide its obsession with ritual and chaos. There is a mash-up of old-fashioned scares, psychological unraveling, and supernatural moments. It’s about showing how deep this evil goes, how it has shaped every cracked sidewalk and haunted basement in Derry for centuries.

Andy Muschietti has promised that every season will reveal a new era, starting with the early 1960s and then extending even further back. Mike Hanlon’s research from King’s novel is the glue here, connecting each gruesome event to Pennywise’s murder cycles.

In an interview with Radio TU, Muschietti stated:

“Every time [Pennywise] comes out of hibernation, there is a catastrophic event that happens at the beginning of that cycle.”

Trending

The first season’s timeline (1962) is the missing link between King’s original work, the movie adaptations, and all the elements we didn’t even know we needed to be afraid of.

The writers have drawn from King’s “interludes” and all the Derry history bits: the dark cycles of violence, the way secrets rot under the surface, the town’s inability to shake Pennywise’s grip. By digging into these lost stories, Welcome to Derry is an origin story for evil itself.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback