Premiering on HBO Max just in time for Halloween on October 26, 2025, It: Welcome to Derry is a prequel to the classic Stephen King novel, introducing new characters while returning familiar faces. Set in the titular town in 1962, Welcome to Derry follows military commander Leroy Hanlon and his family as they settle in with their young child. When a local boy goes missing, malevolent behavior in the quaint Maine town stokes fear and paranoia.
Although It: Welcome to Derry introduced several new characters not included in Stephen King’s novels, some of the author’s most famous characters do appear. More tellingly, Leroy Hanlon has a direct link to Mike Hanlon, a key member of the Losers’ Club in King’s novel, It. With at least one character from King’s The Shining as well, it’s worth exploring how It: Welcome to Derry connects to the overarching King universe.
Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise
As expected, Bill Skarsgård (It, Nosferatu) reprises his role as It/Pennywise, the sinister, sewer-dwelling shapeshifting menace that terrorizes the small town of Derry, Maine. Often assuming the visage of a razor-toothed clown, Pennywise is the villainous boogeyman in Stephen King’s inspirational source novel. Tim Curry portrayed the evil clown in the 1990 movie version, and Skarsgård in the 2017 remake directed by Andy Muschietti.
In It: Welcome to Derry (co-directed by Muschietti), Pennywise will once again feed on children’s fears as he stalks the town and preys on innocent victims in 1962. Among all the crossover characters in King’s universe, Pennywise is the most prominent horror villain in HBO’s prequel series. Skarsgård not only executive produces the series but also returns to King’s TV universe for the first time since Castle Rock on Hulu.
Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, and Blake Cameron James as the Hanlon Family
Taylour Paige (Zola, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F) and Jovan Adepo (Watchmen, The Leftovers) portray Charlotte and Leroy Hanlon in It: Welcome to Derry. Although Charlotte and Leroy are not included in Stephen King’s novel It, their grandson, Mike Hanlon, is one of the main characters. A crucial member of the Losers’ Club who remains in Derry, Mike becomes Derry’s unofficial historian and librarian, tracking all the supernatural phenomena in town and informing the other club members upon Pennywise’s evil return.
In the novels, Mike’s mother is deceased, and his father dies from cancer. In Muschietti’s 2017 and 2019 film adaptations, Mike’s parents die in a fire, and Mike is sent to live with his grandfather, Leroy. Now that the prequel returns to 1962, Welcome to Derry focuses on the Hanlon family’s arrival in town. Leroy is an Air Force Major, and the family becomes immediately involved in the disappearance of a young boy, Matt Clements (Miles Ekhardt), a minor character in King’s novel It.
It’s also worth noting that Blake Cameron James (Found, We Grown Now) plays Will Hanlon in It: Welcome to Derry. Will is the young son of Charlotte and Leroy Hanlon in the TV prequel and the father of Mike Hanlon in King’s source novel. In the prequel, much of Will’s backstory is translated into Leroy’s character.
Chris Chalk as Dick Hallorann
The most exciting crossover character appearing in It: Welcome to Derry is Dick Hallorann, played by Chris Chalk (Detroit, Godzilla vs. Kong). Best known as the chef for the ominous Overlook Hotel in Stephen King’s classic 1977 horror novel The Shining, the character was famously portrayed by Scatman Crothers in Stanley Kubrick’s incomparable adaptation. Aside from his cooking duties, Hallorann shared the psychic ability to “shine,” or foresee future malevolent events, with young Danny Torrance (played by Danny Lloyd).
Although he’s best known for The Shining, Dick Hallorann also appears in King’s novel It. He is one of the founding members of the Black Spot, a gathering place where Black and white citizens peacefully mingle amid social unrest. Dick Halloran (played by Carl Lumbly) also appeared in Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep, the 2019 cinematic prequel to The Shining, released the same year as It: Chapter Two.
For a prequel set in 1962, when the Civil Rights movement was mobilizing to improve race relations, Dick Hallorann’s role in It: Welcome to Derry should be substantive. When introduced, Dick meets Leroy Hanlon at an Air Force base, indicating his military background.
Mikkal Karim-Fidler as Teddy Uris
Another Stephen King character relative to the novel appearing in Welcome to Derry is Teddy Uris (in the red vest above), played by Mikkal Karim-Fidler (Boy in the Walls, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina). Although Teddy is not part of the book, his grandfather, Stan Uris, was a member of the Losers’ Club in King’s novel.
Also mentioned in King’s novel 11/22/63, Stan Uris was the youngest member of the original Losers’ Club who helped fend off Pennywise in 1958, but did not return to Derry in 1985 like the others. In It: Welcome to Derry, Terry Uris is Stan’s grandfather, with the story establishing his family’s role in Derry.
New Characters Featured in ‘It: Welcome to Derry’
Aside from the slew of pre-established Stephen King characters, several new characters populate It: Welcome to Derry. The main ones include:
- James Remar (48 Hours, Oppenheimer) as General Francis Shaw, a U.S. Air Force General overseeing the Air Force base near Derry, Maine. As Leroy’s boss, Shaw is the main person in charge of missions.
- Stephen Rider (Daredevil, Instinct) as Hank Grogan, a Derry local who works at the Capital Theater. In the pilot, Hank is questioned about the sudden disappearance of Matty Clements, sparking a widespread investigation by the local police and Air Force base.
- Amanda Christine (Ada Twist, Scientist) as Ronnie Grogan, Hank Grogan’s young daughter, who helps him at the Capital Theater. Ronnie spotted Matty before he disappeared and teamed up with the other children to find answers.
- Rudy Mancuso (The Flash) as Captain Pauly Russo, an Air Force captain who has been friends with Leroy since their time together in the Korean War.
- Clara Stack (Hawkeye, Madam Secretary) as Lilly Bainbridge, a bullied child from Derry who is referred to as “Looney” for her time in the Juniper Hill mental hospital. Despite her troubled past, Lilly has visions of Matty that could be key to finding the missing boy.
- Matilda Lawler (Station Eleven, Evil) as Marge, Lilly’s only friend who sticks by the bullied outcast no matter what, as they try to solve Matty’s disappearance.
- Jack Molloy Legault & Matilda Legault as Phil and Susie Malkin, Teddy’s best friend and his younger sister, who set out to help the other children find Matty.
Although Episode 2 airs on Halloween, new episodes of It: Welcome to Derry will air every Sunday on HBO Max.
- Release Date
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October 26, 2025
- Network
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HBO
- Directors
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Andy Muschietti