Andy Muschietti will direct the first episode of the It prequel series.
Pennywise the Scary Clown is returning to the screen with a new series on HBO Max . Titled Welcome to Derry , the series is a prequel to Andy Muschietti’s IT and IT: Chapter Two . Both films are based on the original novel by Stephen King, which was previously adapted into a miniseries on ABC. There had previously been reports that Welcome to Derry was in development, and Deadline is now reporting that the series has officially been greenlit from HBO Max.
Speaking of the new adaptation of the story, which will broaden horizons in an approach not present in the original book, King stated, “I’m excited that the story of Derry, Maine’s most haunted town, will continue, and I’m excited that Andy Muschietti will be overseeing the terrifying storyline. this, along with the main cast, including his talented sister, Barbara. There are red balloons all around!”
Andy Muschietti will direct the pilot and additional episodes to link the series to feature films. He also co-wrote stories with Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs. Brad Caleb Kane and Fuchs served as co-showrunners with Fuchs writing the script for the pilot. Muschietti also executive produces alongside Fuchs, Kane, Shelley Meals, Roy Lee, and Dan Lin.
While the ABC miniseries and film Muschietti used Stephen King’s original story as inspiration, Welcome to Derry will have more room to explore that world as an episodic series. The Muschietti family have spoken about how much they had read the original novels when they were younger, and lamented how much of the story had to be left out when making the two films. They are now able to explore things they didn’t have the chance to do before, as well as broaden their horizons about IT.
Published in 1986, Stephen King’s acclaimed novel was first turned into a mini-series in 1990, with Tim Curry playing Pennywise who was later played by Bill Skarsgård in the feature film.
The story centers on the town of Derry, Maine, where a group of friends calling themselves the Losers Club group battle Pennywise the killer clown first as kids, and then 27 years later as adults. Welcome to Derry will be the first time in any adaptation that it expands beyond the confines of King’s classic novel, which is quite the hit for fans of terror saga.
As we all know, the two IT films were a huge success at the box office, grossing over $1.1 billion combined in the global box office upon their release. It Chapter Two is the latest release, and takes place 27 years after the events of the first film, with an entirely new cast including Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Andy Bean and the return of Bill Skarsgård as the clown. spooky, Pennywise.
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