The Halloween horror content continues with a first official look at HBO's IT prequel series.
EW has shared the first promo stills for IT: Welcome To Derry, and while Pennywise the Clown - who will once again be played by Bill Skarsgård - does not feature (not exactly a surprise), the images do give us a look at the show's main protagonists.
IT Parts 1 and 2 filmmakers Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti are on board along with Jason Fuchs (IT: Chapter Two), and we now have confirmation that Andy will direct four out of the nine episodes, including the premiere.
"This is a book we love a lot, and we felt that there was still a lot of story to be covered," the Muschiettis explain. "It’s so rich with characters and events, we thought we would do justice to the book and the fans by going back into this world. Specifically, we are telling the stories of the interludes, writings by Mike Hanlon based on his investigation that includes interviews he conducts with the older people in the town. In Welcome to Derry, we touch on the usual themes that were talked about in the movie — friendship, loss, the power of unified belief — but this story focuses also on the use of fear as a weapon, which is one of the things that is also relevant to our times."
Check out the stills at the link below.
Specific plot details remain under wraps, but we now know that the show will "explore the origins of Pennywise... but like in the book, we’ll do it with a healthy dose of crypticism." It's been well established that Pennywise terrorised the town of Derry prior to the events of King's story, so the Muschiettis have plenty of room to manoeuvre here. Will the creature only appear as the Dancing Clown, or will we see him take other forms?
“As teenagers, we took turns reading chapters of Stephen King’s It until the thick paperback fell to pieces,” the Muschiettis said in a statement when the project was first announced. “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,” added author Stephen King. “Red balloons all around!”
In a recent interview with Esquire.com, Muschietti recalled his first impression of Skarsgård when meeting him for the role.
“Something mesmerized me. One second he can act all cute, and then the next, there’s something ancestral and dark that just appears. His ability to transform is mind-blowing to me.”