It’s Halloween Week, and what better way to celebrate the spooky season than by returning to the most cursed town in horror? The terrifying town of Derry, Maine, is calling us back, but this time, we’re going to the beginning. This essential IT Welcome to Derry recap will take you through the two blockbuster films that defined modern horror, reminding you that friendship is the only cure for fear, just in time for your spooky binge-watching.
The prequel series IT: Welcome to Derry premieres on October 27 on JioHotstar. Fans await the 1962 events that shaped Pennywise. Before the story begins, here’s a quick refresher on how the Losers’ Club fought and ended the terror.
Part 1: The First Cycle – IT Chapter One (2017)
The story begins in 1989 with Georgie Denbrough chasing his paper boat into a storm drain, where he meets his fate. Here, we first see Pennywise the Dancing Clown, a shape-shifting evil that feeds on children’s fear.
Georgie’s older brother, Bill Denbrough stuttering leader of our group, becomes obsessed with finding out what happened. He and his friends, a collection of local outcasts known as the Losers’ Club, slowly realize that all the horrors in their small town are tied to one terrifying monster.
Meet the Losers: A Band of Outcasts
The power of the story rests on the shoulders of these seven kids, each dealing with their own private hell:
- Bill: Driven by the guilt over Georgie’s death.
- Richie Tozier: The smart-mouthed comedian who uses jokes to hide his own deep-seated fears.
- Eddie Kaspbrak: The fragile hypochondriac, suffocated by his aggressively overprotective mother.
- Ben Hanscom: The new kid, bullied for his weight, who finds solace in Derry’s history.
- Beverly Marsh: The only girl, facing abuse and a terrifying form of Pennywise at home.
- Mike Hanlon: The only Black kid in the group, constantly exposed to the town’s hidden violence.
- Stanley Uris: The most rational and skeptical, who struggles the most with the sheer absurdity of the evil.
Pennywise is a master manipulator. It doesn’t just attack—it exploits. It takes the form of whatever the kids fear most: a rotting leper for Eddie, a screaming painting for Stan, and a torrent of blood for Beverly.
The Blood Oath
The Losers eventually realize the monster is weakest when they are together and unafraid. They track Pennywise to its lair beneath the town—the sewers—and through sheer collective will and courage, they manage to wound it badly, forcing it to retreat and enter a 27-year hibernation cycle.
Before they leave Derry, they make a solemn pact: they cut their palms and swear a blood oath to return and finish the job if the monster ever wakes up again.
Part 2: The Final Cycle – IT Chapter Two (2019)
Exactly 27 years later, in 2016, the cycle repeats. Children in Derry start vanishing again.
Mike Hanlon—the only one who stayed behind, guarding the town’s dark history—remembers everything. He is the one who makes the desperate phone call, forcing the rest of the Losers to confront a terrifying truth: they have all lived successful adult lives, but they’ve also suffered from a strange, collective amnesia designed to make them forget Derry and their sacred vow.
Facing Forgotten Fears
The six returning Losers—Bill, Richie, Eddie, Beverly, Ben, and Mike—must first wrestle with the returning memories and the trauma of their childhood. Tragically, Stanley Uris cannot face the return and chooses to take his own life, a somber testament to the terrifying power of Derry.
Mike reveals the Ritual of Chüd, an ancient defense needing “tokens” from their childhood. The scavenger hunt makes each Loser confront adult versions of their fears, preparing them for the final fight.
The End of IT
The showdown takes place once again in the sewers. The Losers try the ritual, but it fails. In that terrifying moment, they realize the ritual wasn’t the answer.
The key wasn’t ancient magic; it was the power of The Losers’ Club itself.
They use their adult courage, their unity, and, most effectively, their collective power of ridicule to attack Pennywise. By shrinking the massive monster down to its true, small, vulnerable form, they can literally crush its heart.
The curse is finally broken. The memory of the monster—and the beautiful, painful memory of their friendship—remains, but the cosmic terror is finally gone.
What to Expect from IT: Welcome to Derry
Now that the Losers’ journey is complete, the prequel series rewinds the clock to the 1960s. This show will reveal a fresh perspective on the terrifying 27-year cycle.
It won’t just be about kids on bikes. Welcome to Derry, promises to explore how the darker realities of American life at the time—like systemic racism, the Cold War’s paranoia, and political corruption—were the very ingredients that allowed Pennywise to thrive.
The series will introduce new characters, including the ancestors of Mike Hanlon, and finally unveil the terrifying, centuries-old secrets of this cursed town. Get ready to witness the fear take root when IT: Welcome to Derry premieres on JioHotstar on October 27th.
FAQs
A: For the Andy Muschietti film continuity (which Welcome to Derry is a part of), the timeline is:
IT: Welcome to Derry (Series, set in 1962).
IT Chapter One (Film, set in 1989).
IT Chapter Two (Film, set in 2016).
A: No, it is not. The new series, IT: Welcome to Derry, is a direct prequel to the two recent movies: IT Chapter One (2017) and IT Chapter Two (2019). The 1990 miniseries, while classic, is a separate adaptation with its own timeline.
A: The original seven Losers (Bill, Richie, Eddie, Beverly, Ben, Mike, and Stan) will not appear as the main characters, as they were only children in 1989. However, the series will focus on the family of one of the Losers: Mike Hanlon’s ancestors (specifically his father and grandfather) will be central figures in the 1962 setting.
A: Pennywise, or “It,” is an ancient, cosmic entity that exists outside of human understanding. The 27-year cycle is its hibernation and feeding pattern. It wakes up every 27 years to feed on children’s fear, causing a massive spike in violence and tragedy in Derry, before returning to sleep when its hunger is temporarily satisfied.
A: IT: Welcome to Derry premieres during Halloween Week on October 27th. You can stream the series exclusively on JioHotstar (in India) or Max (in the US, depending on your region).
