IT: Welcome to Derry was greenlit by HBO as a prequel series to the IT: Chapter 1 & 2 films. I never read the books, but I watched the miniseries, the original 1990’s ABC miniseries, and I found that night one was pretty scary for network television; night two was a big letdown. Before the Andy Muschietti version, Cary Fukunaga (No Time to Die) was set to direct, but he wanted it to be more faithful to the novel. So, as they say in Hollywood, there were “creative differences,” and Muschietti eventually got attached to the project. Because I was let down by the television version, things could only look up with a two-part film release to tell the story. I found the films enjoyable, and, of course, I was comparing Tim Curry’s Pennywise to Bill Skarsgard’s interpretation. Because of the era, I still think Curry’s is scarier. And then, of course, there was the bigger comparison with the “R” rating of it all and with current filmmaking advancements, and how part two would turn out.
So now we get to the series, and luckily, the return of Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise, which I wasn’t even sure if or when we would see him as the evil entity, maybe just the man, Bob Gray, or the introduction to him. There was also a whole new group of kids and Muschietti pulling no punches, regardless of whether they were kids, killed a bunch in the pilot, leaving Marge, Ronnie, Lilly, Will, and Richie until his own demise.
See Also: Review: ‘Doctor Sleep’ Fights Kubrick, King, and Steam Punks
Muschietti touched on race relations for that era and used the Hanlon family as newcomers to the town of Derry, and as somewhat of a focal point to follow as they navigated their way. Hank Grogan was secretly having an interracial relationship, which was a huge no-no at the time. He was also accused of the initial kids’ deaths or disappearances because he was black.
One thing I definitely wanted was the origin of Pennywise and the supernatural evil that came from it. Still, I never expected to see the character Dick Halloran from The Shining. If you read or know Stephen King lore, his universes can intersect. I myself initially came across it in Doctor Sleep, the sequel to The Shining, where that story somewhat crosses over with Salem’s Lot’s mythology and vampires. The military uses Dick’s shining ability as almost a secret weapon, and then to battle or contain Pennywise, which was pretty cool to see. It felt a little like Friday the 13th: The New Blood, where a girl with telekinetic powers fights Jason Voorhees.
As for the actual origin of Pennywise and a meteorite from deep space being the evil entity, I’m not sure I’m pretty on board, because that delves a bit more into science fiction and opens up a whole other story about space and the cosmos. But intertwining that with the mystique of Native American culture, how they first encountered it, learned to contain it, and then passed the warning along to future generations, until our current story became clever.
So now the chicken or the egg? If you’ve never watched the films, do you watch the series first? When I met Andy Muschietti, I told him that my friend I was with had never seen the films and was curious which to watch first. He said the films. So there you go! But definitely watch it all, and then look forward to season two.
It: Welcome To Derry – Season One is now streaming on HBO Max.
