If you're a fan of killer clowns and red balloons, then you're probably hyped for the upcoming Max series "Welcome to Derry." If that's the case, there's some exciting news about the show's casting.
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00:00If you're a fan of killer clowns and red balloons,
00:03then you're probably hyped for the upcoming Max series,
00:05Welcome to Derry.
00:06If that's the case, there's some exciting news
00:08about the show's casting.
00:10It's impossible to overstate the popularity of It Chapter 1
00:13and It Chapter 2, or Bill Skarsgård's turn
00:16as the horrifying Pennywise the Clown.
00:18With apologies to Tim Curry, Skarsgård
00:20has become the definitive portrayal of the character
00:22for multiple generations.
00:24Based on the novel by Stephen King,
00:26the It movies and the terrifying villain at their center
00:28are almost certainly responsible for increased levels
00:31of coulrophobia around the globe.
00:32What are you afraid of?
00:37Clowns.
00:39The otherworldly creature known as It comes in many forms,
00:42but Pennywise the Clown is undoubtedly his most famous.
00:45Since arriving in the town of Derry, Maine,
00:47it has been feasting on its citizens for hundreds of years,
00:50hibernating for 27 years between each feeding cycle.
00:53Warner Brothers Discovery's Max streaming service
00:55ordered a prequel series with a working title,
00:57Welcome to Derry, in 2023, but there
01:00hasn't been much movement on the project to report on.
01:02It's almost as if the evil was waiting until everyone
01:05collectively forgot about it, only to creep up from the sewers
01:07and scare us out of our skin.
01:09Well, that's exactly what happened
01:11when news dropped from Deadline that Bill Skarsgård is
01:13officially returning to terrorize the denizens of Derry,
01:16reprising his role as Pennywise the Dancing Clown.
01:20I'll take him.
01:22I'll take all of you.
01:24Skarsgård has been very busy ever since It Chapter 2
01:27left theaters.
01:28He voiced a villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe,
01:31returned to the horror genre in Barbarian,
01:33and faced off against the world's greatest assassin
01:36in John Wick Chapter 4, along with other projects.
01:39He has a bit less experience on TV,
01:41but he was a major player in the first season of Castle Rock,
01:44which was also based on the work of Stephen King.
01:46Skarsgård isn't the only familiar name returning.
01:49The feature film's director, Andy Muschietti,
01:51producer Barbara Muschietti, and Chapter 2 co-producer Jason
01:55are all coming back for the TV show.
01:57The latter is also serving as one of the co-showrunners.
02:00Along with Black Sails and Lodge 49 producer Brad Caleb
02:03Kane, Muschietti is set to direct four of the nine
02:06episodes in the first season.
02:07While there hasn't been much revealed
02:09about specific plot points, Welcome to Derry
02:11is reportedly set in the previous 27-year cycle
02:14before the events of It Chapter 1 in the 90s.
02:16The book has Pennywise emerge in the late 50s and mid-80s,
02:20but the timeline was shifted in the movies
02:22to allow Chapter 2 to take place in the present day.
02:24That means that Welcome to Derry takes place in the 1960s,
02:28so we'll have to wait and see if Pennywise encounters
02:30any bell-bottoms or lava lamps.
02:32There's no word yet on whether or not the evil clown
02:34will get a new look, though.
02:35Given that this prequel is set in the same timeline
02:38as the It films, we'll likely see
02:39the events surrounding the incident at the Black Spot,
02:42when a racist cult burned down a nightclub
02:44with a customer base of mostly Black soldiers
02:46from the nearby army base.
02:48This might also mean that we get to meet
02:49the families of the Losers Club members
02:51before they were parents, like Eddie's overbearing mother
02:54and Beverly's abusive father.
02:56Joining Skarsgård are previously announced cast members
02:59Taylor Page, Jovana Depo, Chris Chalk, and James Remar.
03:03Welcome to Derry does not yet have a release date,
03:06but it's on track to drop on Max in 2025.