Posted in: HBO, Preview, streaming, TV | Tagged: hbo max, IT, Pennywise, stephen king, welcome to derry

Welcome to Derry: Stephen King Finds "It" Prequel Idea "Interesting"

Published Tue, 07 Jun 2022 16:05:12 -0500

So back near the end of March, news surfaced that HBO Max was in development on a prequel series for the "It" film franchise. Tentatively titled Welcome to Derry, the series would kick off in the 1960s, leading up to the events of 2017's It: Part One (based on Stephen King's classic horror novel) while also touching upon the backstory of Pennywise the Clown. Andy Muschietti, who directed both films in the King franchise, was reportedly attached to executive produce the series alongside Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs. In addition, Muschiettis and Fuchs were developing the show's story with Fuchs penning the script. A mini writers' room for the show was said to be open, with Warner Bros. Television serving as the producing studio (similar to how Warner Bros produced the two films). Now thanks to Bloody Disgusting's The Losers' Club: A Stephen King Podcast (which you can check out below), King is offering his thoughts on the story's universe being expanded.

"I think that when I die I will kind of disappear from the paperback racks. But that f***ing clown is going to live forever. Well, I don't have a relationship to Pennywise now. Because I have no intention of going back to 'IT'. It's in the hands of people who are doing this… Andy and Barbara [Muschietti] are going to do 'Welcome to Derry.' They're talking about it anyway. And they've got sort of a handshake deal, I think, with HBO Max" King explained, confirming that he won't be revisiting Pennywise anytime soon in his novels while also confirming development on the prequel project. As for the concept behind the HBO Max series, King sees it as an "interesting" direction to take. "It's an interesting possibility to do that. They talked about a prequel. Which struck me as an okay idea. I'd love to see what Pennywise was up to 27 years before the '50s. Or, I guess it would be the '80s because they updated the [setting]," King shared. "So it would be, you know, before World War II or something. It'll be interesting to see what will happen with that."

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