After weeks of mounting tension, the moment IT: Welcome to Derry fans have been desperately waiting for has finally arrived. The sinister clown, Pennywise, makes his dramatic on-screen debut in the series' fifth episode, which dropped for UK audiences on November 24.
The Long-Awaited Reveal
Throughout the first four episodes of the Stephen King-inspired prequel, the child-snatching entity has been a menacing presence lurking just out of sight. Viewers have been treated only to brief, chilling glimpses, such as its unmistakable glowing eyes in the shadows. The plot has followed the town's descent into chaos, with local children tormented by their worst fears and a clandestine military operation attempting to unearth the creature's secrets with the help of Dick Hallorann's unique abilities.
This all builds to a climax in Episode 5, when the children of Derry and the military unit venture into the town's labyrinthine sewer system. It is here, deep beneath the streets, that Pennywise is fully unveiled to the audience for the first time.
Bill Skarsgård Returns as an Iconic Villain
Reprising his role from the recent blockbuster films, Bill Skarsgård once again embodies the shapeshifting entity known as It. While the creature can transform into a person's deepest terror, it seems to have a particular fondness for the form of the frilly-collared clown, Pennywise. The series has yet to fully explain why this specific guise is its preferred manifestation.
The show, set 27 years before the events of the original IT film, draws its narrative from five interlude stories within Mike Hanlon's sections of King's seminal 1986 novel. This provides a deeper exploration of the town's dark history and the origins of the evil that resides within it.
Behind the Scenes of the Derry Prequel
The adaptation to television is helmed by the sibling director duo Andy and Barbara Muschietti, who previously brought the story to the big screen with 2017's 'IT Chapter One' and 2019's 'IT Chapter Two'. In an interview with Esquire, Andy Muschietti explained the series' purpose, stating, "One of the great things about the book is no one ever gets to know the truth about It—and that's where our curiosity goes. The purpose [of the show] is shedding some light onto those mysteries."
For horror enthusiasts eager to follow the unfolding terror, new episodes of Welcome to Derry are released every Monday on Sky and NOW TV.
