Earlier this year, we heard that a series called Welcome to Derry, which will serve as a prequel to the adaptations of Stephen King’s It that were directed by Andy Muschietti, was set up at the HBO Max streaming service. Writer Shelley Meals revealed that the show’s writers room had opened back in June. Now Variety reports that Jason Fuchs and Brad Caleb Kane are serving as the showrunners on Welcome to Derry.
Fuchs, who was a co-producer on It: Chapter Two, was brought onto this project by Andy Muschietti and his producing partner / sister Barbara Muschietti. Fuchs and the Muschiettis have also written the script for the first episode of Welcome to Derry, which Andy is expected to direct.
The Muschiettis are executive producing Welcome to Derry through their company Double Dream. Fuchs and Kane are also executive producing the series, which is coming to us from Warner Bros. Television. HBO Max has given the project a series production commitment.
Fuchs’ previously worked on the screenplays for the films Wonder Woman, Pan, Ice Age: Continental Drift, and I Still See You. Kane has earned writing credits on the TV shows Moonhaven, Tokyo Vice, Warrior, Black Sails, and Fringe.
The Ankler speculated that Welcome to Derry will likely explore the origin story of Pennywise the Clown as well as the dawn of the 27-year curse that haunts the small Maine town.
With a page count that goes well past 1000, King’s novel It (pick up a copy HERE) tells the following story:
Welcome to Derry, Maine. It’s a small city, a place as hauntingly familiar as your own hometown. Only in Derry the haunting is real.
They were seven teenagers when they first stumbled upon the horror. Now they are grown-up men and women who have gone out into the big world to gain success and happiness. But the promise they made twenty-eight years ago calls them reunite in the same place where, as teenagers, they battled an evil creature that preyed on the city’s children. Now, children are being murdered again and their repressed memories of that terrifying summer return as they prepare to once again battle the monster lurking in Derry’s sewers.
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