“Unpacking the Derry Universe: A Three-Season Vision for the ‘It’ Prequel Series”

Andy Muschietti has shared his vision for the three-season arc of the forthcoming prequel series Welcome to Derry, centered around Bill Skarsgard’s portrayal of Pennywise.

“It’s a narrative rooted in the interludes found in the book. These interludes are essentially chapters that represent Mike Hanlon’s investigation. They are snippets of his findings. Over 27 years, this character attempts to uncover the truth, what occurred, who was responsible, who witnessed it, and all those details,” Muschietti explained to Radio Tu during a live-streamed discussion, as translated by Bloody Disgusting.

“They discuss calamitous incidents from history, such as the fire at the Black Spot… the slaughter of the Bradley Gang, a group of bank robbers from the ’30s… and the explosion at Kitchener Ironworks,” the director elaborated. “Each time [Pennywise] awakens from slumber, a disastrous event marks the start of that cycle. We are structuring the three seasons of this series around each of these tragic occurrences.”

Muschietti added: “The initial season is set in 1962, the second in 1935, and the third in 1908.”

This series unfolds 27 years prior to the events of the first It film, delving into the origins of Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Skarsgard returns to his role from Muschietti’s films, accompanied by a cast that includes Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, Taylour Paige, James Remar, and Stephen Rider.

Muschietti also discussed the integration of Pennywise’s imagery into the 1908 setting and examined historical inaccuracies in movies like Gladiator and how audiences react. (Fortunately, balloons were invented in 1824.) The director acknowledged that in the original novel, Pennywise’s authentic form is disclosed to be a spider, which was depicted in the original 1990 It miniseries. Pennywise transforms into a clown-spider hybrid in Muschietti’s It: Chapter 2, but does not take on the literal form of a man-sized spider.