Stephen King’s It prequel Welcome To Derry confirmed for release later this year

The news was reported Thursday, and several figures involved with the production of the show issued statements via Variety to express their excitement over the show.

The two movies, the second of which was marketed with nightmare-inducing posters, are based on Stephen King’s famous novel of the same name.

Although finer plot details are being withheld from the public, a released logline gives a bit of background on the project.

‘Set in the world of Stephen King’s It universe, Welcome to Derry is based on King’s It novel and expands the vision established by filmmaker Andy Muschietti in the feature films It and It Chapter Two,’ it reads.

The director of both ‘It’ movies, Andy Muschietti, as well as his sister Barbara, expressed that they were looking forward to expanding the story that they started with the films.

‘It is an epic story that contains multitudes, far beyond what we could explore in our It movies. We can’t wait to share the depths of Steve’s novel, in all its heart, humor, humanity and horror,’ they said.

The brother-sister duo came up with the story for the show, and Andy will direct several of its episodes.

It’s author also spoke to the media outlet to show his enthusiasm for the project.

King said: ‘I’m excited that the story of Derry, Maine’s most haunted city, is continuing, and I’m glad Andy Muschietti is going to be overseeing the frightening festivities…Red balloons all around!’

HBO Max’s head of original content, Sarah Aubrey, issued a statement to speak about how the show’s setting would be fleshed out further in the project.

‘This prequel will expand the It storytelling canvas and bring fans deeper into the terrifying, mesmerizing town of Derry,’ she said.

It is based on King’s novel, which was originally published to much acclaim in 1986.

The book was first adapted into a highly acclaimed two-part television miniseries, which starred Tim Curry as the terrifying clown, in 1990.

The novel was later the basis for a two-part film series, with the first, which starred Bill Skarsgard, Finn Wolfhard and Sophia Lillis, being released in 2017.

The second part of the series, which featured performances from Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader and James McAvoy, premiered two years later.

Both of the films received generally positive responses from critics and were successes at the box office.

Development on Welcome to Derry was previously revealed to the public last March.

Showrunners Jason Fuchs and Brad Caleb Kane were subsequently attached to the project in November.

Welcome To Derry currently does not have a scheduled release date, reps have told MarkMeets it will be this year.