What is this? Welcome to Derry takes a big risk and explains the myth

“If we dare to answer, it had better be a very good one…” Andy Muschietti and the team from the HBO Max series dissect the origins of the mystery for us.

For over 40 years, It has scared generations of readers. Stephen King imagined this demonic entity in his 1986 novel, without ever actually saying what it was… This. But the Welcome to Derry series intends to unravel the mystery.

In this prequel variation, which goes back in time and fills in the blanks, screenwriters Jason Fuchs and Brad Caleb Kane attempt to complete the work of the master of horror with their own explanations. Stephen King was also included in the creative process: he read the scripts and validated the bible for the new HBO Max series. This allowed the authors to take the risk of going beyond the book.

“It’s true that there is a big risk in trying to find an explanation for a mystery imagined by Stephen King!” smiles Jason Fuchs, interviewed by Première. “I am first and foremost a fan of the book It, and I know that the mystery of the entity behind It has been brewing in the minds of fans for many years. Myself included. Everyone has their own vision, their own theory. As a result, there is a risk that the explanation will not be as satisfactory as the mystery itself. So if we dare to answer, it had better be a very good one!”

The authors and the director, Andy Muschietti, thus “racked their brains” a lot and arrived at this story told in episode 4 of It: Welcome to Derry – entitled “The Great Swirling Apparatus of Our Planet’s Function” – online for a few hours.

Spoiler alert!

We learn that the history of It is directly linked to that of the Native Americans. Because the entity arrived on Earth “from the stars”, millions of years ago, banished and imprisoned in a mysterious rock. When the natives came across it, they confined the creature to the woods west of Derry, protecting themselves with a dagger carved from this mystical rock: the only thing capable of containing It. So, one thing led to another, the local tribe decided to lock It in the region, creating a prison formed by thirteen pieces of the star, distributed in a circle around Derry.

Kimberly Guerrero, who plays Rose, the Native American, tells us: “The series goes back in time to ask: who were the first humans with whom It interacted? As a Native American myself, I had the pleasure of delving into this heritage, by talking with John Bear Mitchell of the Penobscot tribe (the Pentagouets in French). We were able to explore their history together and also their territory. And all this research shines through in the series.” She adds that the series “shows how It works. What the rules of this world are and how they are connected to the Native American community.”

But adaptation goes even further. And James Remar (who plays General Francis Shaw) attempts a little description of It for us:

“I would say it’s a parasite. Like a tick, which can hide on a blade of grass without feeding for years. Then a doe or a human comes by and it attaches itself to it. It drinks their blood. In the same vein, It hibernates and comes back to life by feeding on these children. It’s really a dirty little parasite waiting for juicy little victims.”

Kimberly Guerrero loves this vision and adds: “I would also say that It transcends the astral plane, reality as we know it. It is an incarnation of Evil in the literal sense. An entity devoid of any empathy or compassion. It is Evil in its pure state, which only thinks of itself, of feeding itself. It is difficult to envisage as a human because it is a concept precisely emptied of all humanity.”

In summary: a Space tick born from Hell?

“Yes (laughs), if you want! It’s not a bad summary. Maybe I’ll borrow it from you!” laughs Kimberly Guerrero.

But Andy Muschietti tempers and ensures that the series remains in the writer’s domain, that of horrific fantasy: “No! We are not shifting King’s universe into science fiction.” And the director immediately confides:

“I can’t exactly reveal what It is, since that’s kind of the goal of the whole series (laughs). On the other hand, I can tell you that we will tell you where It comes from, this other dimension, the one we see for example in The Dark Tower. And we will say what It is and what It wants…”

Watch in the sequel to It: Welcome to Derry, on HBO Max in France.