Announced earlier this year, HBO Max is working on an It prequel series called Welcome to Derry. We hadn’t heard much from the project since Variety reported back in March that it would “begin in the 1960s in the time leading up to the events of It: Part One.”
But don’t worry, Stephen King fans, because the series is very much still in the works! In fact, it’s now landed its showrunners: Jason Fuchs and Brad Caleb Kane.
Variety broke the news and noted that “HBO Max has given the show a series production commitment.” Exact plot details remain under wraps, though the show is said to include the origin story of Pennywise, everybody’s favourite killer clown.
Andy and Barbara Muschiettie serve as executive producers on Welcome to Derry. Fuchs wrote the teleplay for the first two episodes, based on a story he wrote alongside the Muschiettis.
What’s more, Andy Muschietti, who directed both It and It: Chapter Two, is reportedly being eyed to direct the pilot.
First published in 1986, It was previously turned into a mini-series back in 1990 with Tim Curry playing the role of Pennywise. The novel concerns a group of friends known as the Losers’ Club who attempt to vanquish Pennywise, the child-killing entity that has terrorized the town of Derry, Maine for centuries.
Bill Skarsgård stepped into Pennywise’s grease paint for the recent movies. No word yet on whether he’ll appear in Welcome to Derry.
Words: Samantha McLaren (@themeatispeople)