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Republished from November 2024
Many of Stephen King’s adaptations stumble. It’s often because film, as a visual medium, is external, while fear lives in our instincts and emotions. Throw in creative license and a weak connection to the characters, and you see why some novel adaptations, like The Dark Tower or Graveyard Shift, just don’t land.
Thankfully, IT has been different. The original miniseries adaptation was a hit with King fans and horror lovers. The 2017 remake also captured that magic, leading to Chapter Two, which wrapped up the story of Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Or did it? Even though IT: Chapter Two wasn’t as big as the first movie, it sparked a franchise focusing on the tragedies of Derry, Maine, and the evil entity that haunts it.
IT: Welcome to Derry is the newest chapter. This TV series, developed by Andy and Barbara Muschietti, is a prequel diving into Derry’s dark history, including the Black Spot tragedy. The show draws inspiration from Mike Hanlon’s interludes in Stephen King’s IT novels. These interludes, written as journal entries, chronicle Derry’s past and its connections to the malevolent entity.
Mike, the only Losers Club member who stayed in Derry, becomes the town librarian. He spends his time researching and documenting Derry’s dark history, connecting tragic events to the sightings and killings linked to IT. Mike’s interludes give context to IT and its connection to Derry’s past. In the second interlude, adult Mike visits his cancer-stricken father, Will Hanlon, in the hospital and hears a long-kept secret.
The story opens with Will’s tale from his time in the Air Force, when he and his friends opened a nightclub called the Black Spot. The club was a safe haven for Black patrons. But evil never rests, and the club was attacked and burned down by the Maine Legion of White Decency, a white supremacist group. Sadly, many patrons were trapped inside.
If the name Dick Hallorann sounds familiar, he was the head chef at the Overlook Hotel in The Shining. Will Hanlon’s story also mentions a giant bird snatching a victim during the chaos. The novel describes the giant bird floating in the air, held up by balloons attached to its wings. It becomes clear that the bird is just another form of the trans-dimensional entity that lures and devours children in IT. The Black Spot is just one of many stories Mike uncovers as he tracks the shapeshifter’s decades-long reign of terror in Derry.
Collectively, these interludes inspired the series. But, as with the movies, Andy Muschietti made changes to better align with his vision. In the novel, the Losers Club first meets IT in 1958, then confronts it again in 1985 as adults. The original IT miniseries follows this timeline, placing the Black Spot tragedy in the 1930s.
However, Andy Muschietti’s 2017 IT remake shifted the timeline to 1989 and 2016. With a 27-year gap, these dates move the Black Spot tragedy to 1962, 27 years before the events of the first remake film. Since the movies focus on the main storyline, a TV series is perfect for exploring the history of Derry and Pennywise.
This nine-episode series builds on King’s themes of friendship, loss, and fear, while exploring Derry’s haunted past, the 27-year cycle of terror, and Pennywise’s dormant period. IT: Welcome to Derry is scheduled to premiere on HBO and stream on Max in 2025, with Andy Muschietti directing four episodes, including the premiere.
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