‘It: Welcome to Derry’ Trailer Shows Pennywise’s Return, New Missing Kids & More

Amanda Bell May 20, 2025, 10:05 am

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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 Max, and some key information about the Pennywise prequel show is starting to seep through.

Here’s everything to know about Welcome to Derry.

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?

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. 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.

When will It: Welcome to Derry premiere?

The series is expected to arrive on Max this fall.

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).