Stephen King's IT Prequel Series Welcome to Derry Delayed to 2025
The new horror series was expected to debut in just a year.
The writers' and actors' strikes have seen a number of highly anticipated projects have to pause development, including the HBO series Welcome to Derry, which is a prequel story set in the world of Stephen King's IT. Development on the series was moving relatively slowly, but before the writers' strike officially started earlier this year, the project had found its main cast. Despite the writers's strike being resolved, the actors' strike is still completely halting production on countless movies and TV series and there is currently no end in sight for when that strike could be resolved. Stay tuned for updates on Welcome to Derry.
"We had had [Welcome to Derry] scheduled for Halloween '24 but it will likely pushing into '25," Chairman and CEO, HBO and Max Content Casey Bloys, recently shared, per Deadline. "White Lotus Season 3, that was going to be '24 and that's likely moving into 2025."
The new series is set in the town of Derry, Maine, as made famous in King's 1986 IT. The killer clown Pennywise is undeniably the most recognizable component of that story, though it would seem that Welcome to Derry would focus on other bizarre events that unfold in the town as opposed to putting emphasis on Pennywise.
Welcome to Derry is set to star Madeleine Stowe, Stephen Rider Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, and James Remar. The series was developed by Andy and Barbara Muschietti, the minds behind 2017's IT and 2019's IT CHAPTER TWO, with Andy also set to direct episodes of the series. Jason Fuchs and Brad Caleb Kane serve as co-showrunners of Welcome to Derry.
"As teenagers, we took turns reading chapters of Stephen King's IT until the thick paperback fell to pieces," the Muschiettis revealed in a statement when the series was officially ordered. "IT is an epic story that contains multitudes, far beyond what we could explore in our IT movies. We can't wait to share the depths of Steve's novel, in all its heart, humor, humanity, and horror."
"I'm excited that the story of Derry, Maine's most haunted city, is continuing, and I'm glad Andy Muschietti is going to be overseeing the frightening festivities, along with a brain trust including his talented sister, Barbara," King shared. "Red balloons all around!"
Stay tuned for updates on Welcome to Derry.
Are you disappointed that the series was delayed? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!
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