Heads up, Stephen King fans as the cast for HBO’s Welcome to Derry has been revealed. The series is set in the same universe as Andy Muschietti’s It films from 2017 and 2019, with the filmmaker returning to direct multiple episodes of the series. Now, we know who is going to be appearing in front of the camera alongside Bill Skarsgard, who will indeed be reprising his role as Pennywise the clown.
Deadline has revealed not one, but ten new cast members who have boarded the show. The ensemble includes Alixandra Fuchs (The Chi), Kimberly Guerrero (Outer Range), Dorian Grey (Star Trek: Discovery), Thomas Mitchell (Spiral), BJ Harrison (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Peter Outerbridge (Saw VI), Shane Marriott (Firestarter), Chad Rook (Extremity), Joshua Odjick (The Swarm), and Morningstar Angeline (Westworld). They join a cast that also includes Taylour Paige (Zola), Jovan Adepo (Overlord), Chris Chalk (Perry Mason), James Remar (Dexter) and Stephen Rider (Daredevil). That’s a lot of names to process but it does give us an idea of the game plan here on the creative side.
What stands out is that none of these actors are A-list stars. It appears as though the idea is to take a bunch of character actors and fresh faces to flesh out the town of Derry from years past. This worked very well in the first It movie, as The Losers Club was largely composed of younger, up-and-coming actors who have since exploded. With Skarsgard on board, they may not feel the need to go chasing expensive stars. That feels like the right move.
The show has been in the works for some time but is now firmly in production. While much remains mysterious, it was originally in the works for the Max streaming service. However, it was recently revealed that Welcome to Derry has been reclassified as an HBO original, meaning it will air on HBO and stream on Max. The very un-revealing logline for the show reads as follows:
“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.”
Jason Fuchs (Wonder Woman) wrote the script for the first episode, based on a story he cooked up with Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti. Fuchs and Brad Caleb Kane (Tokyo Vice) will serve as co-showrunners on the project. Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, Fuchs and Kane will also serve as executive producers alongside Shelley Meals, Roy Lee and Dan Lin. Muschietti will direct multiple episodes of the series, including the first episode.
Welcome to Derry is set to premiere sometime in 2025.
