In March 2022, HBO and Warner Bros. announced a prequel series to the IT franchise. The prequel will be titled Welcome to Derry. The director of the two earlier films, Andy Muschietti, will work as an executive director on the series with his sister Barbara Muschietti.
The series is expected to be based 27 years ago and will follow up on the origin of Pennywise the Dancing Clown. It will also explore the town of Derry in 1960, leading up to the events of IT: Chapter One.
Also Read: Scariest Clown Monsters In Movie History That Put The Joker & Pennywise To Shame
Why Another Series?
The first two movies turned out to be a hit grossing $1.1 billion worldwide. However, the movie mostly followed the story of Losers’ Club and their character growth, and Pennywise was just an entity they fought. Even though some things about the character of Pennywise are described, its origin and how it really came to the Earth are still unexplored.
The series may explore further the cosmic backstory of Pennywise and Maturin the Thurtle. Not only this, but it may also shed some light on why the members of the Losers’ Club manage to avoid the curse of Derry.
Considering these aspects, the studio decided to bring out the series. In June 2022, writer Shelley Meals shared a tweet saying,” First day of Welcome to Derry writer room! We float down here.” The tweet points out that the writing for the show has already started, and the show has started development.
Stephan King on the Prequel
After the series was announced, Stephan King, the author of the book, IT, said he would no longer be involved with this franchise. He said he does not get why everyone is obseesed with this character and leaves everything to Andy Muschietti.
The author also doesn’t seem excited with the idea of the series and said that the idea is ‘okay.’
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The Writers’ Room Launched
After its announcement in March, the writers’ room was announced in June 2022. With the writers’ room launched, and other steps in the process, the shooting may also start soon. If it starts this year, the series is expected to be released sometime in 2023. Many also believe that the creators might be planning to release it around Holloween next year. It will premiere on HBO Max.
The Cast and Plot of the Series
Not much information is available about the cast and characters of the series yet, but it may introduce one or more characters that were able to stay away from Pennywise’s influence, or the Losers’ Club was the first one to do so?
Where earlier two movies had characters like Losers’ Club, and Henry Bowers other than Pennywise himself, there is no update on the characters that will be introduced in the prequel series, Welcome to Derry.
While the basic plot of the series is expected to follow Pennywise. How he came to Derry and haunted the town as a clown, nothing much is available about its plot.
As for now, all that is available about the series is that it will be based in the 80s. It will showcase how Pennywise has been haunting the people of Derry for all those years. Welcome to Derry will also showcase the events leading up to the events of IT: Chapter One and Chapter Two.
There are still no updates or confirmation about when the series will premiere.
Source: CBR
