Return to the beginning of the terrifying saga of Pennywise and the tormented town of Derry in HBO's upcoming drama series It: Welcome to Derry, a prequel series based on Stephen King's iconic horror novel of the same name. HBO has finally released the first teaser trailer for the upcoming horror show, which still doesn't have a release date but will come out this fall.
It: Welcome to Derry is set in the same universe as Andy Muschietti's It (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019). Muschietti returned to co-develop the prequel with his sister and frequent collaborator Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs. Fuchs and Brad Caleb Kane are co-showrunners.
The teaser sets the stage for the first season, which will take place in 1962. As 1428 Elm previously reported, Muschietti has a three-season plan for the show already and intends to base it on Mike Hanlon's interlude chapters from King's novel.
In one of the interludes, Mike speaks with his father, Will Hanlon, who recalls the horrific night when a white supremacist group burnt down the nightclub called The Black Spot, primarily frequented by Black soldiers and patrons. Countless people died in the fire. That event happens in the 1930s in the novel, but the timeline established by Muschietti in the movies and show are a little different.
Muschietti revealed to Entertainment Weekly that The Black Spot fire is a pivotal event "in which many stories are built around" in the show's first season. He also refers to It's creepy 27-year hibernation cycle.
"It's cycle is marked by two catastrophic events, one at the beginning and one at the end."
Based on the teaser, it looks like the Hanlon family will play a significant role in season 1. While not yet confirmed by the showrunners or HBO, it looks like Jovan Adepo is playing Mike's dad, Will, with Taylour Paige playing his wife—Jessica Hanlon in the books.
Season 1 of It: Welcome to Derry is set 27 years before the 2017 movie. Bill Skarsgård will return to reprise his role of Pennywise the Dancing Clown. The teaser shows a brief clip of him lurking in a sewer, as shown in the above photo.
Bert—or Maturin—the Turtle
It's also worth noting that the teaser might hold a reference to Maturin the Turtle from King's interconnected universe. Maturin assists the Loser's Club briefly in the book and is part of The Dark Tower series.
There's a moment in the trailer where we see a sign outside of Derry High School that reads "Bert the Turtle says: Duck and Cover," referencing the 1952 propaganda film of the same name that was distributed in schools throughout the U.S. to prepare children for steps to take in case of a nuclear emergency. Bert is an animated anthropomorphic turtle featured in the film. You can still watch it on the Internet Archive.
While likely used to establish the fraught atmosphere of 1962 amid the Cuban Missle Crisis, it could also serve as a nod to cosmic turtle deity from the book. Maturin didn't appear in either of Muschietti's movies, but there were several allusions to him. The reference to "Bert the Turtle" could be another easter egg, or perhaps even a hint that the turtle might finally make an appearance.
Previously, It: Welcome to Derry was going to be a straight-to-streaming series on Max, but Warner Bros. has chosen to give it the HBO treatment, meaning it will get a linear airing, likely in the primetime Sunday night slot currently occupied by The Last of Us season 2.