‘It: Welcome to Derry’ Premiere Month Revealed — Everything We Know

Amanda Bell July 11, 2025, 12:45 pm

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Bill Skarsgard as Penywise — Warner Bros. /Courtesy Everett Collection

Soon it’ll be time to head back to the sewers. It: Welcome to Derry, a television series companion to the events of Stephen King’s It, is being developed for HBO Max, and some key information about the Pennywise prequel show is starting to seep through ahead of San Diego Comic-Con 2025.

The HBO Max series shared a new poster for the series and revealed what month it will premiere this fall on the streamer. Here’s everything to know about Welcome to Derry, plus episodic images that give a glimpse at what’s to come.

When will It: Welcome to Derry premiere?

It: Welcome to Derry premieres this October on HBO Max, the streamer announced on July 11. An exact premiere date will be announced at a later time, perhaps at Comic-Con, where the show will have a presence.

“All roads lead to Derry. First stop: #SDCC,” HBO Max tweeted on July 11. “#ITWelcomeToDerry is coming this October to HBO Max.”

It: Welcome to Derry will host a fan activation and panel at San Diego Comic-Con. On Saturday, July 26, fans will get an exclusive, early sneak peek of the upcoming series with first look footage from the premiere episode presented by special guests Andy and Barbara Muschietti. Free ice cream will be served during the event. Attendance is first-come, first-served; no advance registration required.

OnFriday, July 25 and Saturday, July 26, the series will creep into San Diego with roaming Pennywise-inspired pedicabs offering free rides and brand ambassadors handing out chilling sweets throughout the San Diego Convention Center, Gaslamp Quarter, and Harbor areas.

All roads lead to Derry. First stop: #SDCC.#ITWelcomeToDerry is coming this October to HBO Max. pic.twitter.com/Kzl4TaXR3k

— Actually HBO Max (@StreamOnMax) July 11, 2025

Who will star in Welcome to Derry?

Bill Skarsgård will be given free rein to terrorize all the children of town yet again in this series. The actor previously portrayed Pennywise the Dancing Clown, the ubiquitous villain who emerges every 27 years to feed on scared kids, in Andy Muschietti’s adaptation films It and It: Chapter Two.

The actor previously said in a YouTube interview he had an interest in potentially joining the series depending on the material.

Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, James Remar, Stephen Rider, Madeleine Stowe, and Rudy Mancuso have also been cast in the series.

Who helms It: Welcome to Derry?

Andy Muschietti is returning to the franchise alongside producing partner Barbara Muschitti and co-producer Jason Fuchs. Muschietti is expected to take the helm for four of the nine planned episodes of the series, including the first episode.

How many seasons of It: Welcome to Derry will there be?

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Muschietti revealed that he has a three-season plan, with Season 1 taking place in 1962 and Season 2 jumping back to 1935 and Season 3 in 1908.

What is It: Welcome to Derry about?

The logline for It: Welcome to Derry has been revealed by Max to be as follows: “Set in the world of Stephen King’s IT universe, It: Welcome to Derry is based on King’s IT novel and expands the vision established by filmmaker Andy Muschietti in the feature films It and It: Chapter Two.”

Welcome to Derry takes place before the events of Stephen King’s It, as presented in the 2017 and 2019 films. The setting will reportedly be the 1960s and will include the origin story of Pennywise.

Pennywise is, of course, the supernatural villain of It who has the ability to shapeshift to meet his victims’ deepest fears. He is also of extraterrestrial origin and has a connection to other elements of King’s literary universe, including the Dark Tower.

Is there a trailer for It: Welcome to Derry?

Yes! Max revealed the trailer for the series on May 20, but the video has since been made private. In it, a young boy hitchhiking in the snow is picked up by a kind couple in a car, and he tells them he just wants to go anywhere but Derry. Then, we meet a family of new arrivals to town who are not exactly given a warm welcome by a passing neighbor. Then, at the high school (the sign of which features a turtle Easter egg for the Dark Tower faithful), the kids discuss a spate of missing children cases, which puts them add odds with the town sheriff. There are also plenty of creepily grinning weirdos in the trailer and another girl being tortured by voices in the pipes, much like Beverly in It. Lastly, we get our first glimpse of Pennywise with his menacing giggle, lurking in the sewers.

What else should I know about It: Welcome to Derry?

Production on the series first began in Toronto in May 2023, but shooting was suspended as a result of the SAG-AFTRA strikes that summer and fall. This resulted in a delayed premiere date.

Several first-look photos of the series have been revealed (below).