Stephen King movies and TV shows are being released faster than MCU projects these days, and the latest is an expansion of one of his most terrifying novels. It: Welcome to Derry is a prequel to the classic children versus evil story released by King in 1986, which was adapted into a fantastic 1990 TV miniseries, and later as a two-part feature film by Andy Muschietti in 2017 and 2019. Now, Muschietti and his wife, Barbara, are back in King’s traumatized town to give fans a whole new look at the history of the infamous Pennywise – and most fans seem to be quite happy with the result.
It is hard to accurately gauge Rotten Tomatoes scores before a full season is complete, but critics gave a 78% verdict ahead of Welcome to Derry’s premiere. Audiences that have seen the show have wasted no time in sharing their thoughts on this latest interpretation of King’s work, and seem to like what they see, giving the series debut an 82% score. One of the first reviews gushed:
“IT: WELCOME TO DERRY is INSANELY good. It’s a chilling, masterfully crafted descent into fear and one of the best series of the year! The pilot alone will leave you speechless after the credits roll. Andy Muschietti proves once again why WB keeps this auteur close.”
While another called it the “best series of 2025,” some others are not yet sold on the series, with one comparing it to popular series Supernatural and noting that “more money” should have been given to the series to prevent it looking cheap. Based on the cinematic appearance of the trailer, it is hard to work out exactly what more this particular reviewer could want to see, but each to their own. Others have called it “boring” and “kinda disappointing” for not going straight into full-blown Pennywise mode, something that Muschietti had already made clear it wouldn’t do.
‘It: Welcome to Derry’ Could Run For Several Seasons
The story of It is one that has plenty of unexplored areas, and that is where Welcome to Derry comes in. Where did the entity known as Pennywise come from? How did his previous killing sprees happen? When did it all start? These are the kind of questions that the Muschiettis are looking to answer in the series, and are hoping to have multiple renewals to go back further into the past with every season. Andy Muschietti recently addressed Stephen King’s involvement to The Hollywood Reporter:
“Stephen didn’t approach the show like that. [He] wasn’t imposing any kind of guidelines on us. I think his desire was to let us play with his toys because from the beginning, we were clear to him. [We said to him,] ‘Your book is a mystery. It’s a puzzle and left unsolved intentionally. And we’re going to create a lot of stuff to bring those enigmas, and also to fill in the gaps in the puzzle. Eventually, this creates a story that’s not in the book. It’s a hidden story.’”
With each season set to be a prequel to its predecessor, the story of Pennywise will unfold in a unique way, always going back in time to uncover more secrets of the past. This is similar to the way Netflix’s Fear Street trilogy played out to reasonable success. Welcome to It could well be another huge Stephen King hit, and finally pull back the curtain on one of his most terrifying characters.
- Release Date
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October 26, 2025
- Network
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HBO
- Directors
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Andy Muschietti