The release of IT: Chapter One in 2017 and IT: Chapter Two in 2019 culminated in a huge event for fans of Stephen King. One of the legendary horror author’s most iconic stories was finally adapted for a theatrical event – and it’s being followed-up with an all-new prequel television series. Now Stephen King has shared his first thoughts on the upcoming HBO series titled IT: Welcome to Derry.
The new series takes place decades prior to the events depicted in the aforementioned feature films. The series will dive further into the history of Pennywise, the town of Derry, while also exploring concepts from King’s novel that weren’t featured in the movie adaptations. As such, fans are excited to see the series that has taken several years to get to this point.
Here’s what Stephen King shared regarding the upcoming series IT: Welcome to Derry in a post on Threads:
“WELCOME TO DERRY is amazing,” King writes. “First episode is terrifying.”
It’s strong praise for the series – especially coming from the legendary creator of Pennywise himself. Of course, fans will likely want to make up their own minds, especially as King only shared his thoughts regarding the first episode at this time. Fortunately, the long-awaited HBO series is set to be debut later this month.
Andy Muschietti developed the series alongside Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs. Fuchs and Brad Caleb Kane operatre as showrunners for the series. The cast is led by Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, James Remar, Stephen Rider, Madeleine Stowe, Rudy Mancuso, and Bill Skarsgård will reprise his role from the films as Pennywise.
Fans will be able to view IT: Welcome to Derry when it makes its HBO premiere on October 26, 2025. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates regarding the highly-anticipated horror series as we have them, as well as any other updates regarding Stephen King.