HBO Max has released a chilling new trailer for Welcome to Derry, the upcoming prequel series to IT, and it teases a haunting origin story that reaches beyond the terror of Pennywise the Clown. Executive produced by IT director Andy Muschietti — who also directs several episodes — the series dives into the decades of evil that have plagued the cursed Maine town long before the events of the 2017 and 2019 films.
Set in the mid-20th century, Welcome to Derry introduces viewers to a new family arriving in town, unknowingly stepping into a deeply haunted place where malevolence runs beneath the surface — literally and figuratively. The trailer paints a picture of a Derry that looks deceptively quaint on the outside, but is simmering with inexplicable violence and a growing unease that infects its residents.
While Bill Skarsgård is set to return as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, the trailer smartly avoids a full reveal, instead hinting at his presence through brief, ominous visuals. The supernatural threat in Welcome to Derry appears more diffuse, portraying a pervasive evil that influences the town’s behavior, mirroring themes found throughout Stephen King’s larger body of work.
In a nod to King’s interconnected universe, fans also catch a quick glimpse of a bus marked “Shawshank Prison” — a subtle but thrilling reference to The Shawshank Redemption, further grounding Welcome to Derry in the broader Stephen King multiverse.
Rather than rehash the story of The Losers’ Club, this series digs into the interludes from King’s original novel — fragments of historical horrors that Mike Hanlon later uncovers during his research. According to Muschietti, these include the burning of the Black Spot, the massacre of the Bradley Gang, and the explosion at the Kitchener Ironworks — each event marking one of Pennywise’s deadly awakenings.
Muschietti has expressed hope that Welcome to Derry won’t be a one-off. With each cycle of Pennywise’s return tied to a different disaster, the series has rich material to draw from — not just for one season, but potentially several. Each could focus on a different chapter in Derry’s cursed timeline, offering a deeper look into how this evil force has shaped the town for generations.
Welcome to Derry blends historical horror with King’s signature dread, setting the stage for a series that aims to explore the mythology of IT far beyond the clown’s jump scares. Whether Pennywise is front and center or lurking in the background, it’s clear that Derry has always been haunted — and now, audiences will see exactly how deep that darkness runs.
