Summary
There’s unsettling news that thehorror andStephen Kingcommunity won’t take lightly.HBO boasts an impressive 2025 slate, complete with powerhouse originals and sequel series such asA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,PeacemakerSeason 2,EuphoriaSeason 3,The Last of UsSeason 2, andThe White LotusSeason 3 — all of which were teased in a sizzle reel in November 2024.Welcome to Derry, the prequel to the live-action Stephen King adaptationsItandIt: Chapter Two, was among the most anticipated of that lineup.
Billed as a three-season arc,Welcome to Derrywill unravel the dark history of Derryand the town’s clown-related deaths (a subtle way of putting Pennywise’s murders) in an unusual backward clock: 27 years for each season. The first will take place in 1962, the second in 1935, and the third in 1908. Andy Muschietti, the director of both movies,is on board to direct the first four episodes of the series. In short, fans were supposed to be greeted by a three-season live-action backstory of Pennywise and Derry’s unhealthy relationship sometime in 2025. But not anymore.
The Series Won’t Be Around Until 2026
Fans eagerly awaitingWelcome to Derryare in for a disappointment. According to industry analystLuiz Fernando on X,Welcome to Derryhas been pushed back until 2026 — without any definitive release date.This makes it the second such delay after an expected 2024 debut was postponed to 2025. Worthy of note is that the series is being promoted as an HBO seriea, which isn’t surprising given that theItIPis just one of the major productions to have transitioned from Max to HBO, including the highly anticipatedHarry Potterseries,Dune: Prophecy,andThe Penguin.
For a series announced three years ago, and one that completed filming in the fall of last year, 2026 will be an excruciatingly long wait. If there is to be any silver lining, it’s that this isn’t some anti-climax like those associated withThe Batman Part 2and its consistent delays. Put another way, the secrecy surrounding the series at least ensures that anticipation remains high when Pennywise finally returns.
Will Welcome To Derry Differ From It and It: Chapter Two?
More Children Will Die, Apparently
The obvious release format difference aside,Welcome to Derrywill differ from 2017’sItand 2019’sIt Chapter Twoby not hesitating to kill child characters. Casting director Rich Delia had let this slip in an interview withThe Direct, saying:
[…] to find these kids and find the most amazing, memorable kids that the audience will love, you know, falling in love with, and then some of them, of course, watching them die.
To be considered a faithful enough adaptation asItis left to fans and King himself, but coming off the backs of hugely successful predecessors,Welcome to Derryhas big shoes to fill. With an 85% rating from 387 critics’ reviews,Itis one of thehighest-rated horror filmson Rotten Tomatoes. The sequel,It: Chapter Tworegressed in this aspect, but it still sports a respectable 62%.
What’s Next for Stephen King (And Horror) Fans?
The Life of Chuck, The Monkey, and The Last of Us Might Be Sufficient Compensation
Fans eager to revisitItandIt Chapter Twocan purchase both films on Amazon Prime Video or Apple TV, whileIt Chapter Twois also available for streaming on Max. However, those craving some new Stephen King-IP content will have to wait until summer — precisely June 28, 2025 — for Mike Flanagan’s adaptation ofThe Life of Chuck. As a lesser-known King-IP, it’s rightly placed a few weeks before the blockbuster rush of June and July, which features heavy-weights such asSuperman,Fantastic Four: First Steps,Jurassic World Rebirth,andthe live-actionHow to Train Your Dragon. These movies are all more than capable of crushing the quiet run ofThe Life of Chuckat the box office. If any proof exists of the film’s quality, it’s the People’s Choice Award it won at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.
While King’s literary fans might appreciateThe Life of Chuck’s science fiction elements, horror purists may find it lacking in the terror they seek. Enter Osgood Perkins’The Monkeyto unite both fandoms. Scheduled for theatrical release on February 21, the movie will follow the eerie tale of Hal Shelburn and his curse monkey toy from a 1980 King novella of the same name. The author himself is pleased with thePerkins’ adaptation, describing it as “bat**** insane”on Threads.
