It: Welcome to Derry Co-Creator Reveals Even They Were Surprised at Terrifying Scenes Allowed in the Final Cut

When it comes to frightening audiences, Stephen King is the master of horror with his many disturbing monster creations over the past 50 years, and now it seems as though the HBO prequel, It: Welcome to Derry, will follow the same trend as the show’s co-creator reveals that even they were surprised some scenes were allowed to be included in the TV series.

The notorious and frankly terrifying clown Pennywise has long been one of horror’s most fearful shape-shifting entities, with the two-part adaptation of King’s seminal novel in 2017 and 2019 only cemented that fact even further. IT: Chapter One and IT: Chapter Two were widely successful, with the first IT movie becoming the highest-grossing horror film of all time as it brought in over $700 million at the global box office, even surpassing The Exorcist. In 2022, it was announced that Andy Muschietti, who directed both of the IT films, was developing a prequel series that would delve into the period of 1962, aka the cycle before the one shown in the first IT film, along with his co-showrunners Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs. Starring Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, Taylour Paige, and James Remar, and Bill Skarsgard reprising his role as Pennywise and as an executive producer, Muschietti reveals that It: Welcome to Derry will keep fans who loved the previous films’ scary tone more than happy.

It: Welcome to Derry Co-Creator Thought Some Scenes Wouldn’t Make It Into the Series

According to ScreenRant, who was in attendance during It: Welcome to Derry‘s panel at San Diego Comic-Con, the show’s co-creator, Barbara Muschietti, reassured fans that the HBO show would have “the same level of intensity and scariness” as the movies, while also revealing that she didn’t think that some scenes would make it into the final cut of season one of It: Welcome to Derry, presumably because they are super frightening and maybe quite graphic, but that’s exacty what fans of King’s and Andy Muschietti’s previous works would want from a series like this so this exciting insight is very good news. Here’s what Muschietti had to say:

In a separate article, Andy and Barbara Muschietti also promised to finally reveal the origins of Pennywise in It: Welcome to Derry, stating that they consulted with King on how best to deliver Pennywise’s story and lore, as well as honoring aspects of the book. “How did It become Pennywise. It’s one of the mysteries in the book,” said Muschietti. “They mention this character called Bob Gray. So the conversations were about that and how do we tell the story…[We’re] always respectful– there’s a line. Some mysteries remain. Some mysteries are created.”

Pennywise’s backstory in King’s novel is as disturbing as it is fascinating, so knowing that the creators are willing to unveil that for the prequel series builds a really good foundation for its longevity, especially since the series wants to run for at least 3 seasons. With only a few more months to go, It: Welcome to Derry is set to be released in October 2025.

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It: Welcome to Derry

Release Date

2025

Network

HBO

Directors

Andy Muschietti

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  Bill Skarsgård

  Pennywise

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Source: Screen Rant