It: Welcome to Derry, a Halloween special on HBO Max

A Story of Derry extends It: Welcome to Derry with a special episode running about 30 minutes. The story takes place several centuries before Pennywise, while fans wait for season 2.

It: Welcome to Derry gets a special Halloween episode, A Story of Derry. This roughly 30-minute story takes place several centuries before Pennywise: three young people venture into a forest and encounter an ancient spirit. HBO Max is offering it separately from the first season, while fans wait for the series to continue.

Directed by Tazbah Chavez and written by Cherie Dimaline and Jasmyne Flournoy, this installment features Kiawentiio and Zahn McClarnon, among others. It continues to explore Derry’s past in a different era from that of the first episodes.

HBO has also renewed It: Welcome to Derry for a second season. The horror series will continue exploring the past of the town created by Stephen King, with a new storyline set in 1935. No release date has been announced yet.

According to HBO, the first season ranks among the four strongest global debuts in HBO Max history. Its eight episodes are currently streaming on the platform. The success allows the series to continue expanding the cinematic universe crafted by Andy Muschietti in It and It: Chapter Two.

After a first season set in the 1960s, the follow-up is set in 1935, during the Great Depression. The storyline will center on the Bradley Gang, a crew of bank robbers who drop by Derry to stock up on ammunition before stumbling into an unforeseen horror.

This bloody episode is referenced in Stephen King’s It as one of the calamities that punctuate Derry’s long history. Moving back 27 years before the events of the first season, the series thus dovetails with the recurring cycle of evil at the heart of the original narrative. Season 2 will therefore mark a new historical chapter rather than an immediate chronological continuation.

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Brad Caleb Kane, who shared showrunner duties on the first season with Jason Fuchs, will helm the second chapter on his own. Andy and Barbara Muschietti will remain executive producers through their company Double Dream, alongside Brad Caleb Kane, Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Jamie Travis, and Dhana Gilbert.

HBO has not yet announced the cast for season 2. Bill Skarsgård's return as Pennywise is therefore not officially confirmed, even though the press release promises to delve deeper into the clown's legend and the mysteries surrounding Derry.

Developed by Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs, It: Welcome to Derry expands the universe of Stephen King's novel and the two feature films directed by Andy Muschietti. The first season follows new residents of Derry as they confront the gradual awakening of the evil force that haunts the town.

The cast features Jovan Adepo, Taylour Paige, Chris Chalk, James Remar, Stephen Rider, Madeleine Stowe, and Rudy Mancuso. Bill Skarsgård returns to the role of Pennywise, the part he previously played in the 2017 and 2019 films.