This: Welcome to Derry: HBO Max unveils a surprise episode for Halloween
A little horrific gift for Stephen King fans: the platform has just uploaded a special 30-minute episode, set several centuries before the events of the series.
In Derry more than anywhere else, we know how to celebrate Halloween!
HBO Max has a surprise in store for fans of It: Welcome to Derry by revealing a totally unexpected special episode.
Entitled It: The Legend of Derry, this thirty-minute program takes us several centuries before the events of the series, well before the appearance of Pennywise, certainly in the 17th century, with the arrival of the first English settlers in Maine.
This is a new exploration of the Indian legend told in season 1 and allows us to explore the origins of It in more depth. After a celestial battle between Good and Evil, defeated and exiled to Earth, It arrived via a shooting star. “His fetters were broken and his evil spirit was released into these woods for a million years…” But from his cage, the natives were able to forge a weapon to protect themselves…
IT’s a surprise Halloween treat. Catch this never-before-seen special exploring the origins of IT in Derry. #AStoryOfDerry is streaming now on HBO Max. 🎈 https://t.co/NH3NcMLt8n
— HBO Max (@hbomax) October 31, 2026
Directed by Tazbah Chavez (Reservation Dogs) from a screenplay by Cherie Dimaline and Jasmyne Flournoy, this special episode recalls how the entity has been terrifying the region for ages, pending season 2 of It: Welcome to Derry, which is currently being written, with Stephen King’s grandson on the team. It will go back in time to take place in the 1930s, during the Great Depression.
The release date for season 2 has not yet been announced.
