It Prequel Series Welcome to Derry Teases First Look in HBO Sizzle Reel

Warner Bros. has delivered a first, if fleeting, look at It prequel series, Welcome to Derry. The few seconds of footage, which includes several aerial shots of the Stephen King town plagued by the “eater of worlds” and, of course, an eerie shot of a red balloon, come as part of a sizzle reel of what to watch on Max in 2024. While other shows included in the reel, such as House of the Dragon season 2, The Penguin and The Sympathizer, are expected to be released in 2024, Welcome to Derry was recently pushed back to 2025. You can check out the footage below.

While numerous series and movies halted their productions in the midst of the Hollywood writers’ strike, HBO moved forward with those that had completed scripts ready to go, and Welcome to Derry was one of them. However, the subsequent actors’ strike brought things to a standstill, instigating the shift in release date to 2025.

Released in 1986, It has become one of the most popular and recognized books in the Stephen King bibliography, a real doorstop volume that charts a group of friends as both children and adults as they attempt to defeat an evil entity that takes many forms, but most iconically that of the clown Pennywise. In 1990, It first came to the screen in the form of a two-part television movie, directed by Tommy Lee Wallace and starring Tim Curry in the role of the terrifying main villain. And although for many it was a perfect adaptation, even though it had to comply with TV standards, the novel was adapted again into a two-part movie, releasing in 2017 and 2019.

Andy Muschietti, who previously directed the disturbing Mama, was chosen to adapt King’s work. And, to the surprise of many skeptics, it managed to live up to some high expectations – even if it did make changes to King’s text for several reasons. Such was the success of its two installments that Warner Bros. Discovery announced that the universe would expand with a prequel series, titled Welcome to Derry.

Previously, through his Instagram account, the director of The Flash shared the first official image of the show, announcing the start of production. The photo shows the door of the office of the Derry police chief, who in the prequel is named Clint Bowers.

The Bowers last name is no stranger to It fans, as it is carried by two well-known characters in the original story. Henry, the leader of the group of bullies that harasses the group fo friends, and his father, Butch. In the book, Butch is a farmer, but in the Muschietti movies he’s a cop, so it’s probably a relative in charge of the Derry Police Department in the series.

Related: It Prequel Welcome to Derry Adds Taylour Paige, Watchmen’s Jovan Adepo & Dexter Star James Remar to Cast

What to Expect From Welcome to Derry

The story of It takes place in the fictional town of Derry, Maine. Derry, like many of King’s towns, hides a terrible secret. Every 27 years, a destructive and murderous force resurfaces to feed on the fear of children, usually taking the form of the disturbing clown Pennywise.

There have already been some changes made to King’s timeline in the movies, which in turn has a knock-on effect on the series. While King focused on the periods of the 1950s and 1980s, Muschietti’s movies shifted these forwards by 30 years. This means that the series will pitch its story around the same period that King’s original Losers Club faced off with Pennywise. Naturally, the series will introduce a new group of characters being terrorized by the monster, but as always, we can expect plenty of Easter eggs and connections to King’s original story.

Welcome to Derry is part of the long list of productions that seek to expand the great Warner Bros. Discovery franchises with different spinoffs, such as the new Game of Thrones series or The Big Bang Theory, which will have a new derivative show in addition to Young Sheldon.