It: Welcome to Derry director jokes that the new Stephen King horror series will both "ruin and explain" all the cryptic elements of Pennywise: "What does It want? Why is It there?"

Andy Muschietti says It fans are finally going to get some answers about Pennywise's cryptic backstory in the upcoming prequel series It: Welcome to Derry.

"It gets very emotional, it's a very compelling drama. Apart from the horror elements of It that are definitely augmented, we're going to have, if I may say it, an enhanced emotional experience at the end of it," Muschietti says in the new issue of SFX magazine, which features It: Welcome to Derry on the cover and hits newsstands on Wednesday, October 8.

The series takes place 27 years before the events of the first It film, and it explores the origins of Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Skarsgård reprises his role from Muschietti's films, with the cast including Jovan Adepo as Leroy Hanlon, Chris Chalk as Dick Hallorann, Taylour Paige as Charlotte Hanlon, James Remar, and Stephen Rider. The aforementioned Hanlons are the parents of Losers Club member Mike Hanlon, and Dick Hallorann is, well, the very same Dick Hallorann from The Shining. We also see a truck that bears the name Shawshank Prison in it in the trailer, so get ready for a Stephen King multiverse of sorts.

"We're hoping to get an engagement with the characters that is like no other before. You get horror at times 10 because we wanted to raise the bar in that sense," he continues. "You also get a glimpse into a bigger mythology for people who love the book or love the movies. We're opening a window. Everything that we are setting up in season one, that will really manifest in two and three, is a look into all the bigger questions about It. 'What does It want? Why is It here?' All the cryptic elements of It that we're going to ruin and explain."

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It: Welcome to Derry releases on October 26. Read more in the latest issue of SFX magazine, which will be available from Wednesday, October 8. Here's the It: Welcome to Derry cover you need to be looking out for on newsstands below...

Go back to where IT began… 🎈Our 2025 Halloween Horror Special celebrates the new It: Welcome To Derry series with exclusive interviews and goodies! 🤡Last year’s Halloween issue sold out in record time - on sale 8 October or pre-order NOW from the link in our bio! 🎃 pic.twitter.com/YxAHfUEER0October 2, 2025

I'm the Editor of SFX, the world's number one sci-fi, fantasy and horror magazine – available digitally and in print every four weeks since 1995. I've been editing magazines, and writing for numerous publications since before the Time War. Obviously SFX is the best one. I knew being a geek would work out fine.

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