MAX released the first official photos from the upcoming IT: Welcome to Derry TV series. The new streaming TV show serves as a prequel to the pair of IT movies released in 2017 and 2019, and takes place thirty years before the events of the first movie, landing in 1962 (27 years before the first movie). With these first photos Max has offered a fresh look at the new period setting for IT: Welcome to Derry but if you look very closely there’s also a confirmed connection to a fan-favorite IT character.
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One of the photos from IT: Welcome to Derry includes series star Jovan Adepo wearing an Air Force uniform with his nametag clearly visible. As fans familiar with IT will know, the name “Hanlon” carrie weight in this realm of Stephen King’s universe, meaning that Adepo’s character is somehow related to Mike Hanlon from the main IT narrative (played by Chosen Jacobs in the first IT movie and Isaiah Mustafa in IT Chapter Two). What is unclear though is if the Hanlon Adepo is playing is Will Hanlon, Mike’s father, who plays a major role in the IT Book but was not seen in the movies; or if he will be playing Leroy Hanlon, Mike’s grandfather who was seen and spoken about in the first IT (and who does not appear in the novel itself).
It seems likely that Jovan Adepo will be taking on the role of Will Hanlon, Mike’s dad, in IT: Welcome to Derry for one major reason, The Black Spot club. In Stephen King’s original book The Black Spot is a club started by Mike Hanlon’s dad and some of his other black friends. What began as a refuge for the black people of Derry turned into tragedy as it was burned to the ground by a group of racists in the town. Naturally this is all rooted once again in the presence of Pennywise, and IT: Welcome to Derry will finally tell the full story. The Black Spot was spoken about in dialogue in the first IT movie as well.
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There are some key pieces from the IT movies that are bringing IT: Welcome to Derry to life with director Andy Muschietti, producer Barbara Muschietti, screenwriter Jason Fuchs, and Pennywise actor Bill Skarsgård all confirmed to return for the show. Andy Muschietti will direct four of the nine episodes of IT: Welcome to Derry with Skarsgård reprising his role of Pennywise.
The cast for IT: Welcome to Derry also includes Taylour Paige, Chris Chalk, James Remar, Stephen Rider, Madeleine Stowe, and Rudy Mancuso. Jason Fuchs, Brad Caleb Kane, David Coatsworth, Bill Skarsgård, Shelley Meals, Roy Lee, and Dan Lin are executive producers. Fuchs, who wrote the teleplay for the first episode, and Kane serve as co-showrunners on the project.
