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HBO series It: Welcome to Derry is built from the “hidden story” in the original It novel by Stephen King, say creators
How Andy and Barbara Muschietti found the hidden story that led to the Pennywise prequel It: Welcome to Derry
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Ninja Turtles aren’t the only creatures lurking in the sewers, as Stephen King fans know all too well.
It: Welcome to Derry is an upcoming HBO series that focuses on Pennywise’s reign of terror before meeting the Losers Club. Andy Muschietti, who directed It and It: Chapter Two, got the idea for the prequel when he was filming the movies.
“It all started around the time that we were finishing It: Chapter Two,” Muschietti says during the It: Welcome to Derry spotlight panel at New York Comic Con 2025. “I started having these weird conversations with Bill Skarsgard, because we were high on the experience of doing It: Chapter Two. We started somehow speculating and fantasizing about a new story, a new movie, which was basically the origin of Pennywise. How did It become the clown? What role did the infamous and cryptic Bob Gray play in this story?”
He continued, “Those were the conversations, then we all went our separate ways. Actors that are in a role go and make a bunch of movies. Bill did, and he did great. We went on our own adventure. After a while I picked it up again, went back into the book, and I realized that there was so much more than the origin story of Pennywise. I sort of focused on the interludes. It told me about a puzzle that was intentionally unfinished in the book. Stephen King creates all these enigmas and big question marks to create tension. But for me, at that point it was like, what if this is a blueprint for a different story.”
Muschietti is referring to the interludes where Mike Hanlon chronicles other attacks Pennywise has done over the years. These interludes became the basis for the series.
“For me those interludes were kind of a blueprint for a different story, a hidden story, a story that is not told forward, but a story that is told backwards and has a final conclusion, the events in which It became Pennywise. There’s more to it. There is a reason and a secret why we’re telling the story backwards. I can’t tell you now, but I guess you’ll have to see the show.”
It: Welcome to Derry premieres October 26, 2025 on HBO.
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