HBO has yet to share the release date for It prequel series Welcome to Derry, but apparently, things are progressing well behind the scenes. According to a new interview with developer Andy Muschietti, who also directed both Warner Bros. films It: Chapter One and It: Chapter Two, the cabler is open to additional seasons.
Chatting with Argentina's Radio TU (translation via Bloody Disgusting), Muschietti shared his three-season prequel plan. The first season, set in 1962, follows the events leading up to the 2017 movie. Additional seasons will go back in time to different decades.
The director says he intends to center seasons 2 and 3 around Mike Hanlon's interlude chapters from the books, following some of the "catastrophic events from the past," such as the Bradley Gang massacre and the Black Spot fire.
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In Stephen King's original novel, every instance of Pennywise emerging from his 27-year hibernation begins with a disastrous event, typically resulting in a large body count. Muschietti referenced three during his interview, allowing us to create a rough three-season outline. Note that the film's timeline is slightly different from the book's.
- Season 1, 1962: The Black Spot Fire—previously confirmed in an Entertainment Weekly exclusive. In 1962, a white supremacist group set fire to a local nightclub primarily frequented by Black Army soldiers from a nearby base. In the book, Mike's father, Will Hanlon, recounts seeing a giant bird (a manifestation of It) steal one of the victims amid the chaos.
- Season 2, 1935: Another of Mike's interludes depicts him interviewing Norbert Keene as he recalls the brutal Bradley Gang massacre, another catastrophic precursor to It's awakening.
- Season 3, 1908: In Muschietti's films, the 1908 explosion at Kitchener Ironworks started the latest hibernation cycle. More than 100 people died, many of them children.
It: Welcome to Derry is on track to premiere sometime this year. Muschietti said HBO is quite happy with the show and "very interested in making the second season as soon as possible."
Muschietti developed the series alongside his wife, Barbara, and frequent collaborator Jason Fuchs. He also directed multiple episodes of the first season, including the series premiere.
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