Over the last number of years it has been a great time to be a horror fan. In that time span, one of the most popular series of films has been Warner Brothers’ IT duology from director Andy Muschietti. The Stephen King adaptation was a scary hit both critically and financially. This has led to a new prequel series that will further explore the cursed town of Derry, appropriately titled Welcome to Derry. Now, Muschietti has shared the first behind-the-scenes image for the series that only adds more questions to Derry’s dreadful history.
The image posted to Muschietti’s Instagram page takes us inside the Derry police department, more specifically at the office door of the town's chief of Police Client Bowers. That’s the only clue given as the director welcome’s horror fans back to Derry in the caption. However, fans of IT will find the name Bowers very familiar. In the book and first film, Henry Bowers led the gang of bullies who tortured our favorite Losers Club. Henry goes on to murder his dad Butch, played by Stuart Hughes in the film, when he falls under Pennywise’s influence. It’s one of the darkest and tragic moments in the film despite the fact that the Bowers are far from the nicest family in the world. Butch, who was also a Derry cop, was an abusive father, which sealed his son’s unsettling fate. We never met Client in the films, so only time will tell if this Bowers mirrors his messed up family members or if he’ll go against his dark family tree. This is Derry after all and, no matter what kind of person Client is, tragedy is soon to follow.
What’s Welcome to Derry About?
Welcome to Derry will be set in the 1960s leading up to the events of the first film which took place in 1989. While Pennywise actor Bill Skarsgård won’t be returning as Pennywise, the series will be exploring more of the famous horror clown's origins. Derry’s bleck history was only merely touched on in the films, so that premise makes this an exciting series for horror fans to look out for. Muschietti will be directing many episodes of the series. The director also wrote the first episode with Jason Fuchs who’s co-showrunning Derry with Brad Caleb Kane. The series thus far stars Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, James Remar, Chris Chalk, Madeleine Stowe, and Stephen Rider.
When Does Welcome to Derry Release?
Welcome to Derry’s currently in production now despite the ongoing writers strike. There’s no confirmed release date yet, but horror fans will be returning to Derry sometime in 2024. It will be interesting to see if the strike has any effect on those plans. For now, the series will be debuting on WB’s newly rebranded streaming service Max.
While we wait for Welcome to Derry, you can view Muschietti’s new BTS image down below. Both IT films are also currently streaming on HBO Max.