‘IT: Welcome to Derry’ drops surprise Halloween special on HBO Max

HBO Max has surprised IT: Welcome to Derry fans with a new special episode, released on Halloween as viewers await the horror series’ second season.

Titled IT: Welcome to Derry – A Story of Derry, the 30-minute instalment arrived on the streaming platform on October 31, taking audiences hundreds of years before the events of the first season.

The special follows three Indigenous youngsters who venture into the Western Wood, where they encounter a terrifying ancient spirit. Its story explores the origins of the supernatural evil that would eventually become associated with Pennywise, the shape-shifting entity played by Bill Skarsgård.

The episode features Kiawentiio, Brandon Oakes, Isabel Deroy-Olson, Michael Podemski-Bedard, Morningstar Angeline, Jennifer Podemski, Brenda Odjick, Jennifer Guerrero, Zahn McClarnon and Eric Trask.

Cherie Dimaline and Jasmyne Flournoy wrote the special, while Tazbah Chavez directed it.

The surprise release comes after IT: Welcome to Derry was renewed for a second season in August. The upcoming season will move the story back to 1935, during the Great Depression, and centre on the massacre of the Bradley Gang, a group of bank robbers who stop in Derry to buy ammunition before encountering unimaginable horror.

The series serves as a prequel to the IT films, which were released in 2017 and 2019 and adapted from Stephen King’s 1986 novel.

The first season, set in 1962, followed residents of Derry as they faced the town’s recurring horrors and the return of Pennywise.

The new special offers fans another glimpse into the town’s dark history while they wait for the second season, which has yet to receive a release date.

IT: Welcome to Derry – A Story of Derry is now streaming on HBO Max.