IT Is Back in the First ‘Welcome to Derry’ Footage

The Big Picture

Welcome to Derry
is a highly-anticipated horror prequel series set for release in 2025, exploring Pennywise’s origins.
The footage features eerie and bloody imagery, hinting at a terrifying adventure reminiscent of Stephen King’s books.
Bill Skarsgård returns as Pennywise in the TV format, with a new cast set in the 1960s small town of Derry, Maine.

The first look of Max’s highly-anticipated horror series, Welcome to Derry is delightfully covered in blood, terrified looks, and creepy smiles—just the way it should be. Along with a handful of other titles like Season 3 of The White Lotus and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the It prequel series made its grand debut via an X post shared by the streaming platform. And, if the seconds-long sneak peek is any sort of hint – it’s going to be even better than expected. The very first snippet looks like an homage to another favorite book by the author who started it all, as a group of kids walk under an elevated train track that gives us a hint of nostalgia for Stephen King’s novella The Body which served as the premise for Rob Reiner’s dark coming-of-age classic, Stand by Me.

The words “This ain’t America. This is Derry.” Can be heard over top of the show’s brief but informative first look which features a literal welcome sign to the Maine town that boasts it to be the birthplace of the legendary Paul Bunyan. While none of the plot is given away, the teaser reveals that it’s going to be yet another terrifying adventure into the world of It when the series arrives in 2025. Several teenagers take the spotlight in the sizzle reel – each of whom is covered in blood and some sort of other gross fluids. Along with what we’d say is the production’s logo, the only other sound heard during the very short first look are—of course—screams. Missing from the action is Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise, a role that he’ll reprise from the two movies helmed by Andy Muschietti.

Crossing over from feature-length to TV format, Welcome to Derry will serve as a prequel series that will track the rise of Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the years before he wreaked havoc and dumped heaps of childhood trauma onto Bill and the rest of his friends. The show will travel back to the 1960s and follow a group of fresh faces that will include the likes of Rudy Mancuso (Música), Kimberly Guerrero (Reservation Dogs), Dorian Grey (Star Trek: Discovery), Thomas Mitchell (RoboCop), BJ Harrison (Dead Boy Detectives), Shane Marriott (Fargo), Chad Rook (Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City), Peter Outerbridge (Sullivan’s Crossing), Madeleine Stowe (The Last of the Mohicans), Stephen Rider (Daredevil), and more.

Bill Skarsgård’s Journey With ‘Welcome to Derry’

In the spring of 2023, Skarsgård broke the hearts of many when he wasn’t attached to the production of Welcome to Derry, even giving the new actor stepping into the role made iconic by Tim Curry, advice. A year later, the actor said that he would be more than down to play the killer clown, with the announcement of his return coming very shortly after. With so many behind-the-scenes names like Muschietti attached to what will serve as the precursor to the latest set of films, it would have been a shame to not include Skarsgård in the production, so we’re glad to know he’ll be the man under the heaps of makeup.

As of right now, Welcome to Derry is set for a release in 2025. Check out the sizzle reel above.