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Pennywise the Clown returns in HBO prequel series It: Welcome to Derry trailer

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Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise the Dancing Clown in It Welcome to Derry.
HBO / HBO

What’s happened: HBO has taken audiences back to Derry with a frightening new trailer for It: Welcome to Derry, the new series based on director Andy Muschietti’s horror film, It.

  • The trailer features Charlotte (Taylour Paige) and Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo), grandparents of Mike Hanlon from the original two It films, as they move to Derry.
  • A group of kids investigates and confronts Pennywise the Clown (Bill Skarsgård), who has kidnapped and killed several people in Derry.
  • The Hanlons are also seen speaking with Dick Hallorann (Chris Chalk), the Overlook Hotel’s psychic cook from The Shining and Doctor Sleep.

This is important because: It: Welcome to Derry is a prequel series that showcases more of the origins of Pennywise during his rampage through Derry in the 1960s, 27 years before the events of Muschietti’s It.

  • It: Welcome to Derry is also based on the novel by legendary author Stephen King.
  • Muschietti has directed four episodes in the series.
  • Hallorann’s appearance in the trailer aligns with King’s book, which shows the former rescuing Mike’s father from the Black Spot fire caused by a white supremacist group.
  • It is very clear that the show’s story will draw significantly from the interludes featured in King’s book, delving deeper into Derry’s dark history with Pennywise.
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Why should I care? It: Welcome to Derry has teased an exciting new chapter in the ever-popular It franchise, which could make for a successful new show for HBO.

  • 2017’s It achieved rave reviews and became the highest-grossing horror film of all time.
  • It: Welcome to Derry will follow new characters in a different era of American history, which should help deliver a fresh installment to the It franchise.
  • Following the acclaim of The Life of Chuck, The Monkey, and The Long Walk, the hype generated for It: Welcome to Derry could make for another successful Stephen King adaptation in 2025.

OK, what’s next? The first episode of It: Welcome to Derry will premiere on HBO on October 26, 2025.

  • The show’s first season will consist of nine episodes, premiering on a weekly basis.
  • The series will also be available to stream on HBO Max.
Anthony Orlando
Anthony Orlando
Writer
Growing up in Oradell, New Jersey, Anthony Orlando always had a passion for creative storytelling, having written his first…
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