It: Welcome to Derry Just Turned a Horror Show Into Something Far More Interesting
HBO's It: Welcome to Derry arrived in October 2025 with a mission: prove that the Pennywise story still has untold depths worth exploring. It delivered on that promise — but not in the way most American horror fans expected. By the time the season finale, "Winter Fire," rolled its credits, the show had quietly transformed from a prequel horror series into something that borrows from science fiction, cosmic mythology, and time-bending storytelling in ways that connect directly to why Pennywise is trapped in Derry and what he's trying to do about it.
If you're confused by the It Welcome to Derry time travel twist, you're not alone. This guide breaks it all down clearly — what Pennywise's temporal powers actually are, why the series tells its story backwards, what it means for season 2, and why this HBO Pennywise prequel series might be the most ambitious horror show on television right now.
Quick Background: What Is It: Welcome to Derry?
It: Welcome to Derry is a prequel series to the It film duology (2017 and 2019) set on HBO. It premiered October 26, 2025, and currently holds an 80% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Key facts:
- Created by Jason Fuchs, Andy Muschietti, and Barbara Muschietti
- Bill Skarsgård reprises his role as Pennywise
- Set in the 1960s — decades before the Losers Club of the films
- Adapts three short "interlude" chapters from Stephen King's original 1986 novel
- Planned as a 3-season series, each set in a different era, moving backwards through time
The show stars Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, and James Remar alongside Skarsgård. It streams on HBO Max.
The Pennywise Time Travel Twist: What Actually Happened in the Finale?
In the season 1 finale "Winter Fire," Pennywise reveals something that reframes the entire season — and potentially the entire planned trilogy of shows.
The entity tells Marge Truman (Matilda Lawler) that he is aware of his future death at the hands of the Losers Club, and specifically that Marge's future son — Richie Tozier (played by Finn Wolfhard in the 2017 film) — will one day help kill him. Pennywise has been targeting the ancestors of the Losers Club in the 1960s with a clear goal: erase them from existence before they're ever born, preventing his own death in the future.
This is the central twist: Pennywise has tried to rewrite history to survive.
But here's where it gets more complex than a simple time travel story.
Pennywise Doesn't "Travel" Through Time — His Reality Is More Disturbing
The most important nuance the show establishes is that It is not a time traveler in the traditional sense. He doesn't step into a machine or jump through a portal. Instead, Pennywise — as a cosmic entity that exists outside of human space and time — experiences all moments simultaneously.
To borrow a phrase from Doctor Who: for Pennywise, time is "wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff." Past, present, and future are all equally real and accessible to his perception. He doesn't travel to different eras — he's always experiencing all of them at once.
Andy Muschietti explained it directly to The Wrap: "A monster that doesn't experience time linearly can live in time in a very different way, and at the same time, can rewrite history."
This has huge storytelling implications:
- Pennywise knows, right now, that the Losers Club will defeat him in 1988
- He knows which ancestors to eliminate to prevent their births
- His efforts in the 1960s, 1930s (likely season 2), and earlier eras are all part of one long campaign to escape his fated death
What makes it even more unsettling is that the shards keeping Pennywise trapped in Derry may limit his awareness. In the finale, Pennywise says: "Tomorrow, yesterday, it's all the same for little Pennywise. But it's not always easy, no. Being caged up in one place, one time." The Derry cage may restrict his temporal perception to a specific window — the centuries between his arrival and his death.
Why the Series Tells Its Story Backwards (And Why That's Brilliant)
It: Welcome to Derry moves backwards through time with each season. Season 1 is set in the 1960s. Season 2 is expected to explore the 1930s. Season 3 would go back even further.
At first, this seemed like a quirky creative choice. Now we understand it's narrative architecture tied directly to Pennywise's nature.
Because Pennywise doesn't experience time the way we do, telling his story backwards mirrors his perspective. As Muschietti confirmed, this is intentional: the backwards format is "the reason why the story is told backwards" — it's tied directly to the cosmic nature of the villain himself.
This also solves a problem that haunts every horror prequel: why watch something if we already know the monster survives? In a normal prequel, there's no suspense because the villain's survival is guaranteed. But if Pennywise can rewrite history, suddenly his survival is not guaranteed at all. Each season carries genuine stakes — he might actually succeed in changing the future, which would mean the Losers Club never defeats him in 1988.
The Connection to Stephen King's 11.22.63
Eagle-eyed Stephen King fans have noticed that this storyline closely mirrors themes from King's sci-fi novel 11.22.63, in which a character travels back in time to prevent JFK's assassination.
In both stories:
- A character takes actions in the past specifically to create ripple effects in the future
- The goal is to prevent or cause a specific event by eliminating a "root cause" earlier in time
- The tension comes from whether or not history can truly be changed
The key moral difference: the protagonist of 11.22.63 acts out of altruism, trying to save lives. Pennywise acts out of pure self-preservation, trying to erase innocent people before they're born.
Interestingly, these two King stories already share a literal connection in the source novels: in 11.22.63, Jake Epping's time-travel journey brings him to Derry in 1958, where he briefly encounters a young Richie Tozier and Beverly Marsh and feels Pennywise's presence.
What This Means for It: Welcome to Derry Season 2
As of May 2026, HBO has not officially greenlit season 2 — but HBO CEO Casey Bloys has publicly stated the show is "100 percent on board" and "not in limbo at all." Barbara Muschietti confirmed in March 2026 that a second season will happen once the right story is fully developed.
What to expect in season 2:
- A setting likely in the 1930s (based on Stephen King's novel interludes)
- A continued exploration of Pennywise's campaign to prevent his death
- Deeper mythology around why Pennywise stays in Derry specifically
- Possible introduction of Maturin the Turtle — a cosmic ally mentioned in King's mythology
- A darker look at the social atmosphere of Depression-era America (the original show already used the 1960s for sharp social commentary)
The three planned seasons together aim to answer three core questions Andy Muschietti identified early in the show's development: "What is It? What does It want? And why is It in this plane of existence?" Season 1 answered much of the third question. Seasons 2 and 3 will push deeper.
How It: Welcome to Derry Is Different From the Movies
| Feature | It (2017) & It Chapter Two (2019) | It: Welcome to Derry (2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Medium | Film | HBO series |
| Timeline | 1989 (childhood) / 2016 (adult) | 1960s (prequel) |
| Source material | Main novel narrative | Interlude chapters |
| Pennywise | Pure monster | Cosmic entity with temporal awareness |
| Tone | Classic horror | Horror + cosmic sci-fi |
| Richie Tozier | Central Loser Club member | Referenced as Pennywise's target-by-proxy |
The show has been praised for expanding the mythology in ways the films never could within a movie runtime. Critics highlighted the social commentary woven throughout the 1960s setting — Pennywise preys on the marginalized, the forgotten, and those whom adult society refuses to protect.
Is the Pennywise Time Travel Twist Faithful to Stephen King's Novel?
Somewhat. In King's original It novel, It is described as an ancient cosmic entity existing outside of normal time and space — a being of almost incomprehensible age and power. The idea that It perceives time non-linearly is consistent with King's mythology.
However, the specific plot of Pennywise targeting the ancestors of the Losers Club to prevent his future death is an original invention by showrunner Jason Fuchs and the Muschiettis. The novel's interludes that the show adapts are much briefer and don't contain this level of metanarrative.
This is a bold creative expansion — and for most viewers, it's working. The 80% Rotten Tomatoes score and strong HBO viewership suggest audiences are responding well to the new mythology.
FAQ: It: Welcome to Derry Pennywise Time Travel
Q: Does Pennywise actually travel through time in It: Welcome to Derry?
A: No — not in the traditional sense. Pennywise experiences all time simultaneously as a cosmic being. He doesn't move through time; he perceives all of it at once and acts based on that knowledge.
Q: Why is It: Welcome to Derry told in reverse chronological order?
A: Because Pennywise doesn't experience time linearly. The backwards storytelling mirrors his perspective and keeps genuine stakes alive — since he's trying to rewrite history, the outcome isn't predetermined.
Q: Who is Richie Tozier in the context of Welcome to Derry?
A: Richie Tozier is a member of the Losers Club who helps defeat Pennywise in the future (shown in the 2017 film). In the series, Pennywise targets Richie's ancestors to prevent him from ever being born.
Q: Is It: Welcome to Derry season 2 confirmed?
A: Not officially greenlit as of May 2026, but HBO's leadership has strongly confirmed the show's future is secure and a second season is being developed.
Q: Is It: Welcome to Derry on HBO Max?
A: Yes — the full first season is streaming on HBO Max right now.
Q: Is the show scarier than the movies?
A: Most reviewers say yes. The series format allows longer, slower buildup, and Pennywise appears more as a shapeshifting background threat rather than a constant presence — which many found more unsettling.
Conclusion: A Pennywise That Can Rewrite History Is Far Scarier
The most powerful move It: Welcome to Derry made was transforming Pennywise from a monster that kills children into a cosmic predator actively working to change time itself in order to survive. That shift from horror genre to horror-meets-sci-fi opens up storytelling possibilities the movies never had — and gives the planned three-season arc genuine narrative weight.
The It Welcome to Derry Pennywise time travel concept isn't a gimmick. It's the thematic backbone of the entire series. And with season 2 in development, the question isn't just "who will Pennywise hunt next?" — it's "can anyone stop a monster who can see the future?"
That's a far more terrifying question.
External Authority Links
- It: Welcome to Derry – Wikipedia — comprehensive show overview
- Stephen King's It – Official Novel Info — source material
- Rotten Tomatoes – It: Welcome to Derry — critical reception
- HBO Max — where to stream the show
- Stephen King's 11.22.63 on Hulu — related King time-travel adaptation