IT: Welcome to Derry is an upcoming HBO series releasing sometime in October of 2025. The series will serve as a prequel to director Andy Muschietti’s It and It: Chapter Two, exploring the events of the interlude chapters in Stephen King‘s novel of the same name. While Welcome to Derry will allow fans of the two It films to revisit their favorite spooky New England town — complete with Bill Skarsgard’s Pennywise — the series may actually have a much grander purpose. With both Dick Hallorann and a reference to Shawshank Penitentiary showing up in the show’s first trailers, there is a possibility that Welcome to Derry is setting up a Stephen King shared universe.
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Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe kicked off the “shared universe” trend currently being used across movies and television to promote IP synergy, Stephen King was crafting a literary tapestry of interwoven locations and characters. Nearly every Stephen King novel contains at least one reference to the author’s other works. Ace Merril from The Body (AKA Stand by Me) shows up in Needful Things, Randal Flagg from The Stand appears in Hearts in Atlantis, etc. All of King’s novels and short stories are part of the same multiverse that fans have dubbed the “Kingverse.”
The Kingverse’s most well-known hub is the town of Castle Rock, but Derry is a close second. The small Maine town factors directly into at least eight of King’s stories, including It, Bag of Bones, and Secret Window, Secret Garden, and is referenced in over three times that many others. In addition, several of King’s novels are set in locations that border Derry, such as The Tommyknockers‘ Haven and Ludlow from Pet Semetary. In other words, almost anyone — or anything — from the Kingverse could find its way into It: Welcome to Derry.
It: Welcome to Derry, Being Set in the ’60s Could Limit Potential Crossovers
The first season of Welcome to Derry is set in the ’60s, meaning Derry residents from stories set later, like Insomnia‘s Patrick Danville, are unlikely to turn up. Even with the limited time frame, however, there are still plenty of opportunities for crossovers with other King stories. For starters, Jake Epping, a time-traveller from 11/22/63, could easily pass through Derry on one of his jaunts back to the past — in fact he already did.
In the 2011 novel, King had Jake run into Beverly Marsh and Richie Tozier from It, making a cameo from Epping, a natural fit for It: Welcome to Derry. Another King character that could make an appearance is Alan Pangborn of Needful Things and The Dark Half. The future Castle Rock sheriff would be a child around the time Welcome to Derry is set, and could easily take a trip with his parents to nearby Derry. Fellow Castle Rock law enforcement George Bannerman of Cujo and The Dead Zone could also conceivably make an appearance.
In truth, any number of characters from the many King books set in and around Maine, including Dolores Claiborne and Salem’s Lot, could be referenced and/or appear in Welcome to Derry. But that’s only accounting for human characters. As any avid Stephen King fan knows, Pennywise is far from the author’s only supernatural creation.
The Series Could Feature Supernatural Creatures Similar to It
With a little bit of imagination, It: Welcome to Derry could feature all sorts of otherworldly creeps and weirdos, including the Low Men in Yellow Coats, Little Bald Doctors, and even King’s most popular villain, Randall Flagg. Not just Flagg, but Roland Deschaine and anyone else from The Dark Tower could pop up, given the series’ status as the nexus of King’s multiverse from which all his other works spring. All things serve the beam after all.
Of course, given that the It films already changed the original book’s timeline from the late ’50s/’80s to the late ’80s/’2010s It: Welcome to Derry could actually change any preexisting King lore it wants in order to build its multiverse. The It cinematic universe is in no way beholden to the It literary universe. Rights issues, however, are another matter entirely.
Stephen King adaptations have been a hot commodity since the author’s debut novel, 1974’s Carrie, was first made into a successful movie two years after it was written. As a result, many different studios have produced Stephen King adaptations over the years, leaving some possible crossovers in limbo. For instance, the above-mentioned 11/22/63 was turned into a Hulu miniseries almost a decade ago, meaning that while a Jake Epping cameo might make sense from a storytelling standpoint, it might not be feasible from a legal one.
Any potential worldbuilding the creators of It: Welcome to Derry have in mind will hinge on what Stephen King works HBO has the rights to. Recently, showrunner Mike Flanagan told us he’s still actively working on his hotly anticipated TV adaptation of The Dark Tower series. With Amazon passing on the project, Flanagan could potentially secure a working deal with HBO, which in turn could make characters like Roland and Randall available to appear in Welcome to Derry.
Ultimately, with non-It characters like Dick Hallorann already set to show up in the series, it’s not a question of will It: Welcome to Derry crossover with King’s other work but to what extent? Is the series working toward an MCU level shared universe, or will most of the references to other King stories come in the form of entertaining, but essentially meaningless Easter Eggs?
We’ll find out when It: Welcome to Derry premieres on HBO in October.
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