Madeleine Stowe and Stephen Rider Join IT Prequel Series Welcome to Derry

Publish date: 2024-05-23

It’s such an exciting time to be a horror fan on both the big and small screens. On the streaming side of things, one of the most highly anticipated series coming soon is Welcome to Derry. The Max IT prequel is set to debut in 2024 and recently the series, based on the work of Stephen King, received its first casting announcement. Now, it's been revealed that Madeleine Stowe and Stephen Rider have joined this terrifying ensemble.

Exclusively reported by Deadline, Stowe will be a recurring guest star on the series while Rider will be a series regular. Who they’re playing remains unknown. That being said, Stowe is best known for her roles in Revenge, The Two Jakes, Stakeout, 12 Monkeys, and Blink while Rider is best known for his roles in the Marvel series Daredevil and Luke Cage as well as movies like The Butler and The Great Debaters. The pair join Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, and James Remar for the IT prequel.

What’s Welcome to Derry About?

While there’s still a lot of unknowns in terms of Welcome to Derry’s plot, the series will start in the 1960s and slowly make its way up to the events of Andy Muschietti’s first IT film which took place in 1989. Whether that be over the course of one or multiple seasons remains to be seen. Also, while Bill Skarsgård is not returning to the town of Derry for this prequel, the series will further explore Pennywise’s dreadful backstory. We got small glimpses and teases throughout both IT films, but it’s going to be exciting to see where this series takes Derry given the town's very tragic history.

RELATED: Pennywise Showdown: Skarsgård vs. Curry - Which 'IT' Is Better?

Muschietti is returning to direct several episodes of the series. The famous director, who is just about ready to release The Flash this summer, wrote the first episode with Jason Fuchs. In addition, Fuchs is serving as Derry’s co-showrunner with Brad Caleb Kane. Given that both IT films were critical and financial horror darlings, Warner Brothers most likely expects a huge hit for their newly rebranded streaming service.

When Will Welcome to Derry Release?

Welcome to Derry doesn’t have a confirmed release date yet, but the series will be debuting sometime in 2024. Given that casting news for the prequel is slowly revving up, we should be getting more updates on that scary front sooner rather than later. While horror fans anxiously wait for 2024 and their return to Derry, you can stream both IT films on HBO Max now. The trailer for IT can be viewed down below.

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