Stephen King’s Most Terrifying Hit Is Getting A Prequel Series
A prequel to one of Stephen King's greatest works is now one of the many, many adaptations of his work in progress, and it's perfect choice.
Stephen King is a host unto himself, and has been for decades now. Since the publication of his first novel Carrie in 1974, there has essentially been no pause in the steady stream of adaptations of King’s works. Feature films, mini-series, TV shows, comic books, Funko Pops; if you can conceive of something, basically Stephen King has branded it. So it should not be a surprise that one of his best and most terrifying works is getting a reboot. Reportedly, HBO Max is developing a prequel series to It, the 1986 novel generally viewed as one of his masterpieces. The novel has already been adapted into 1990 ABC television miniseries and a two-part feature film adaptation by director Andy Muschietti released in 2017 and 2019. While details are scarce so far, Muschietti seems on board, based on this Instagram post:
This latest Stephen King adaptation is reportedly titled Welcome To Derry (at least for now), and will involve the events leading up to Andy Muschietti’s It: Chapter One. Muschietti will executive produce along with Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs (who is also slated to write the series). Fuchs is best known for a story by credit on the DCEU’s Wonder Woman film, as well as writing the upcoming Matthew Vaughn ensemble spy thriller Argylle. While it is currently unknown how exactly Welcome to Derry will approach the story of a demonic sewer clown/interdimensional spider-being who enjoys terrifying and eating children, there certainly is no lack of material in Stephen King’s assembled works.
The original novel It can be seen in many ways as the sum total of many of the works of Stephen King up till then, dealing with the parallels of childhood and adulthood, the darkness hidden in supposedly idyllic small towns, and of course, cosmic monsters devouring people. The novel also has a built-in mythology that Pennywise the Clown is a manifestation of an unspeakably ancient alien creature that crash-landed into where the town of Derry, Maine would someday be, and has been both preying on children and subtly influencing the entire town towards evil for generations. As such, it’s pretty much perfect for a prequel series, especially as part of the story is The Losers Club actually researching the prior appearances of Pennywise throughout the years.
Andy Muschietti’s adaptation of It was an enormous box office success, with the first film alone grossing over $700 million worldwide. Pennywise is also one of the most recognized and iconic Stephen King characters, so it is very unsurprising that Warner Bros and HBO Max would be looking to utilize the property as much as possible. There is also never a dearth of upcoming Stephen King projects. Currently, a documentary about the making of Pennywise as a character in the ABC miniseries is set to release in the United States. A remake of the Drew Barrymore film Firestarter (now starring Zac Efron) is in production, as well as a Chris Messina project, a JJ Abrams crime series, and, well, you kind of get it. There’s always a lot of Stephen King out there.
