Welcome to Derry: Madeleine Stowe, Stephen Rider join It prequel series at Max

After officially giving a greenlight to Welcome to Derry two months ago, the It prequel series has been busy assembling its cast. Deadline has reported that Madeleine Stowe (Revenge) and Stephen Rider (Daredevil) are the latest additions to the It prequel series.

It’s not clear who Madeleine Stowe and Stephen Rider will be playing in the series, but Deadline states that Stowe’s role will be recurring while Rider will be a series regular. Welcome to Derry will begin in the 1960s leading up to the events of It: Chapter One. Previous reports also claimed that the series could include the origin story of Pennywise the Clown.

In addition to Madeleine Stowe and Stephen Rider, the cast of the It prequel series also includes Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, and James Remar. Andy Muschietti, who directed the big-screen It movies, will direct multiple episodes of Welcome to Derry, including the first episode. Jason Fuchs wrote the script for the first episode, based on a story by Andy and Barbara Muchietti and himself. Fuch will also serve as showrunner alongside Brad Caleb Kane.

In a statement following the official announcement of the series, Stephen King said, “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. Red balloons all around!“ Andy and Barbara Muschietti added, “As teenagers, we took turns reading chapters of Stephen King’s It until the thick paperback fell to pieces. 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.“

Although it’s hard to imagine Welcome to Derry without Pennywise making an appearance, Bill Skarsgard has said that he’s not involved with the project… at least for now. “We’ll see what they come up with and what they do with it,” Skarsgard said. “As of now, I’m not currently involved in it. If someone else gets to do it, my advice is to make it your own. Have fun with it.“