‘IT: Welcome to Derry’ cast and creators tease Pennywise prequel series ahead of debut at NYCC 2025
[Music] Hello everyone. How you doing? I am overjoyed to be back on this stage. Many of you know I am a diehard Stephen King fan, but if I’m being honest, it is probably the novel I have read and reread the most. So, it is the highest honor to be here moderating this conversation for you. We also have coach showunner and executive producer Jason Fuches. Say hello to Kimberly Guerrero who plays Rose. We have James Ree who plays General Shaw. Please welcome to the stage Stephanie Ryder who plays Hank. We’ve also got Taylor Paige who plays Charlotte. Say hello to Joan Deepo who plays Leroy. Now we’ve got Chris Trough who plays Dick Howerin. And now say hello to executive produ producer Barbara Muscatti. There we have executive producer and director Andy Muscetti. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Welcome to the stage every that Andy started to create in those first two movies. How much of what we see of Derry in those movies will we get here and what new corners were you able to explore by having eight episodes? Yeah. Well, I am I got invited into this in the most casual of ways. I had worked uh on It Chapter 2. I’ve been lucky enough to be included in that. And Andy and Barbara and I were working on something else. A couple years later, I was walking into the Warner Brothers parking lot with Andy, and almost as an afterthought, Andy said to me, “Hey, we’re going to make an IT prequel series. Do you want to come do that together?” And I thought, “Well, that’s that’s like a life-changing thing to mention on the way to your car.” Yeah. I I you know, I come off a line of of of shows. I love doing uh complex, interconnected, very character-rich shows and Andy and Barbara really wanted to do something like that and setting it in 1962, 27 years before Andy Barber’s movies, you know, which was 1989. That was very interesting to me, particularly when you’re dealing with a monster, uh, a creature, an interdimensional creature, um, who uses fear and hatred to divide, and you’re talking about 1962 in America. Well, that’s a very rich and specific area to mine and um that was really interesting to me, you know, the the social uh and uh the social implications of that, marrying that with um with the horror of it and you know, the themes of Mr. King’s book. So, it was a fun rich world to play in. I want to throw one more question uh to both of you right now because and correct me if I’m wrong on this. I know you both have a significant amount of experience in film andor television, but I believe this is the first time for both of you that you’re stepping into the showrunn. So, what does that mean to get that opportunity with this particular show? And what is it about the two of you that make you the ideal partners for it? Uh, I mean truly, uh, the creative experience of a lifetime. Uh, I had never had an opportunity to work in television as a as a writer. I I acted in TV a little bit. Um, I had never had a chance to run a show. So to be able to do it with uh, you know, collaborators like Andy and Barbara and Brad, it was a real extraordinary experience and to get to play in a universe that is, you know, it is my favorite horror novel of all time. It is my favorite horror film I think of all time. So this was as a fan uh, the opportunity of a lifetime. Yeah. I mean, I have to say in in an extraordinary way, Andy and Barbara were so generous with the the the you know, our contribution to the story, to the world that they created initially, you know, the initial room uh where we broke the story was me and Andy and Barbara and Jason and this incredible writer named Corey Jefferson. And you know, we just there there were no there were no holes barred. There were no guard rails. Um, you know, it was all fresh snow. There was no I made these two movies and we need to stay within these parameters. Andy and Barbara were, you know, let’s let’s go for it. It’s 1962 in America. Dair is a microcosm of America. What do we want to tackle? You know, the themes became very obvious and the scares just from that came spilling out. I can’t. So, what if the people suck to work with? You know what I mean? But having Andy and Barbara at the top, I remember the audition and we were on Zoom and I was like, “Oh my god, he seems so nice. He’s so sweet.” And he gave me the nickname Chuckle. He says, “Chuckle.” And uh I like a nickname. Like, so I was like, “Oh, if he’s going to love me, then I’m going to love him back.” Uh and I knew that we could create, we spoke a couple times, like being able to create a family is most important to me. And that’s a good leader to create a family in. And so we’re all good friends because of it. And the show’s good. You know, that’s cool, too. But that’s better. Thank you. Thank you. We have it. I have to say when um when we wanted to cast him before he came on board, um we put up in in our, you know, wish board a picture of his wedding. Uh He looked amazing. Um, so that’s what Katie, you too. We needed the best version of Chris to put up put he made a an effort that day apparently. Want to keep going down the line? Uh, yeah. I think I have to agree with you, Chris. Uh, it’s rare that I agree with Chris on anything. I love him. He’s a good friend of mine. we’ve worked together before, but yeah, uh Andy approaching and and telling me about the idea. I think uh it was during the Babylon premiere that I Andy had come to the premiere and he uh was just talking to my agent and and I’ve known Andy for a while, too. And he was like, “Yeah, man. I got this part that I think you might be right for.” And when I found out who it was, I mean, I was really excited to get to play it because I was such a big fan of the movies. And I remembered as soon as he said the name, I was like, “Why does Leroy sound so familiar?” And I remember him being the older gentleman in the first film that was talking to Mike about pulling the uh the gauntlet gun towards the sheep. And it was just an exciting familiarity to get to play that character because that same actor Steven Williams played my grandfather in my first job ever. So I was like to get to play the younger him. I was like this is amazing. And of course to get to work with Andy and Barbara who are brilliant and to get to work with this brilliant cast and and have Taylor as as as my handling partner and get to work with Chalk again and James and and Stefan and Kim just everybody the experience of building a family and everyone being on the same collaborative accord of doing something that we’re all passionate about. There was no way I was going to like just not do everything I could to get that part. But I do to everyone’s point it is a family and we met on a I think it was a Sunday Zoom which is obviously a weird a really strange day to Zoom but we did and it was like 2 hours and we have this matching tattoo Barbara and I that says fear not basically and um it’s dairy. What do you mean fear not? Um it was a no-brainer. I I very much wanted to work with them and it was an incredible incredible experience. You know how they say sometimes dreams come true. In my experience, dreams do come true. I met Andy and Barbara in 2018 through the audition process of It Chapter 2 and was in the running of it. And when we met, I just fell in love with them. They’re just genuine people. Like what they say, they do. And Andy sent me a message because of course Isaiah got the part. And he was just he just said in the email like it was lovely meeting you. And at that time it was one of the hardest decisions uh as a director. But he said I hope to work with you on future projects. Now, you know, a lot of times people say a lot of stuff and it never happens. And I auditioned for this and the next time I the next time I saw Andy Space, he was like, Stephano, he was like, you know, we are going to work together. And he was like, look, I’m sorry that that didn’t happen, but this was for you. And so that’s how I I was a part of the family in 2018 and I’m just so happy to be here and I love it. I love it. Stephan was excellent on the on the on the first round. It was a very tough decision but he got even better than that if that’s even possible. And meant to be. Yeah. And all of these actors will they will break your heart. You will fall in love with these characters and all of these actors the way they’ve inhabited them. They will absolutely break your heart. You will root for them. You will fear for them. Um it’s just uh it’s you guys are all so wonderful. I would I would love to work with you all on future projects. A a child uh as you will, you know, is a legendary uh I mean these these guys are all legendary, but uh I had something special for James. I wanted to to at least know him. So when he said yes, I was like uh incred like just I couldn’t believe it. And I’m very I’m very happy that that he is part of the project and he just nailed it. What can I say? These guys these guys always make me cry. I’m a senior citizen and uh you know I was in the parking lot of Pavilion’s grocery store and I was thinking to myself, well it doesn’t really matter if I don’t work anymore. Uh, I had just finished a series a few months earlier called Black Lightning and and things were things, you know, which I love very much and things were a little quiet. So, I decided to take my pension and my social security and I thought, well, I have enough money, you know, I can pay the rent. I blah blah blah all that stuff. Doesn’t matter if I don’t work again. I swear I got into the car and I got a phone call from my agent. They said, Andy and Barbara Shetty want to meet you for this undisclosed project and they’re only meeting one actor. And this is during the time of of it’s still at the tail end of COVID. I went to Warner Brothers. I met their their assistant Jordan. I I got her a Starbucks. She was lovely and welcoming from the moment that I met her. I I walked down the hallway and I sit in this little chair in in in the hallway of their office and there’s Pennywise standing on this stand and I said, “Holy I have arrived. This is this is this is like very intense, very scary. It’s kind of, you know, oddly off-putting and attractive at the same time. And then I go into their their room. They sit down. We had a conversation for 2 hours. And I told them about my childhood. I told them about seeing President John F. Kennedy in 1962 when I was 9 years old with my brother at the Boston College Stadium. and and and how that time was so intrinsically intertwined in my being and how wonderful and tragic it was at the same time. And and we had this amazing conversation. I I felt like I’d embarrassed myself because I really uncovered. I just told him everything. I was leaking real tears and and and anyway, long story short, we get up from the thing and and and and I I reached out to shake Barbara’s hand and she says, “No, we’re huggers. put her arms around me and but he walked me out and and we we talked a little further and I I just I I just thought, “Oh my god, what have I done? I’ve exposed myself. You’re never going to give me this gig.” And uh a couple weeks later, they said, “You’ve been approved by HBO.” And uh they said and and I I didn’t I didn’t know who General Shaw was. And then they started to unveil unveil who this character was, who who he represented, what he was, it was strategic air command, the cold war, you know, brainwashing, all these wonderful things that I grew up with. You know, I remember being a little kid looking up in the sky and seeing Sputnik, and here they are bringing it to life again. You know, I think it takes 60 or 70 years to really fully understand a period in time. And when you look at the 1962 uh uh clips and pieces of this show, I’m drawn back in time. I feel like I’m in the losers club all over again. It it it it’s it’s truly extraordinary. And and and I I I feel like it’s just beginning. And every single one of these people adopted me and treated me like the old the OG and and and gave me love and respect. We we we you hear a lot. I want to pass it on. We You hear a lot about how we form a family in these casts, in these productions. These guys are my family. I I love them deeply. Every day that I went to work, I looked forward to it. And and me and Jovon did a movie shortly after, and it was such a reunion to be on on a different set, but we had the the memory of of this one. Uh no, I mean, I hope you guys feel like you’re part of the family, too. it it we we everybody left it all on the floor. Everybody left it all here for you and we hope you really enjoy it. So, it’s a perfect segue for me because this is storytelling with a capital S. It’s the Stephen King universe and it is a family, but it’s a family that we’ve been left out of. the the native story has been there, but we’ve never had we never a able to join you all at the table. And it was like we have stories, too. [Applause] And boy, what a story. And boy, what a story. And so, it was such a a deep blessing and an entire life’s work. I’ve spent my entire life uh working to to bring our stories to the world and to help give our um just give space for our voices. I have never been to a reservation or a Native American community that did not have a place where you do not go. You do not go because you do not know. I play a character named Rose. Rose knows. Okay. And and so it undergirling so much of the Stephen King universe is this sense of something’s going on with the land. The land remembers even though we’ve forgotten and there is something dwelling there that could could be very harmful and we don’t understand. And so it was such a gift to get to play this indigenous character that has had all this ancestral knowledge that’s been passed down from generation to generation to generation. And so Rose knows, my community in this story knows everything that happened before dairy was dairy. And there was a first losers club. And that losers club was a group of indigenous kids. And my character plays a direct descendant of those kids. And so you’re going to get to be a part of our family um as we we get to tell this story and go dive deep deep into the origins of of what terrifies us most about it.
The cast and creators for HBO’s upcoming original series “IT: Welcome to Derry,” brought an exclusive look at the upcoming series to New York Comic Con. Fans got a first look at never-before-seen footage. Panelists included Andy Muschietti (Director, EP), Barbara Muschietti (EP), Jason Fuchs (Co-Showrunner, EP), Brad Caleb Kane (Co-Showrunner, EP), Jovan Adepo, Taylour Paige, Chris Chalk, James Remar, Stephen Rider and Kimberly Guerrero as they shared haunting details about what is to come on October 26, 2025.
#nycc2025 #it #welcometoderry
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