Andy Muschietti recalls pitching IT: Welcome to Derry to Stephen King

It: Welcome to Derry is now on HBO Max, but before the premiere on Oct. 26, our team at Winter is Coming caught up with Andy Muschietti at New York Comic Con.

There, Muschietti revealed Stephen King was pleasantly surprised by the approach they wanted to take with the show, and completely on board with their ideas for It: Welcome to Derry.

Muschietti touches on that sentiment when discussing with Winter is Coming what it was like to pitch the story concept to King.

"It's almost like Stephen King intentionally created, presented, an unfinished puzzle for someone to pick up and try to weave the story," Muschietti said. "And the story that we found was a creation, and it's going backwards. I mean, I don't think Stephen King was expecting us to tell the story backwards, but when we pitched him the story, he was like, 'Great, let's do it.'"

For impatient fans, this isn't the greatest of news. It means we're going to be waiting a while for the answers IT: Welcome to Derry will cook up as for the humble beginnings of Pennywise, one of the original clowns to strike fear into hearts everywhere. What other forms might this creature take on as the seasons progress? How much information will we get on our journey to the origin point?

Fans had varied opinions on how successful Muschietti was with his takes on the horror classic with It Chatpter One in 2017 and It Chapter Two in 2019. Diehard Stephen King readers know it's impossible to include every detail contained within his novels into film adaptations, often leaving us with countless "what-ifs" when the credits start rolling. We all have details we'd have liked to see included in those adaptations.

While some feel that the addition of a show is just a cash grab, I'm looking forward to seeing what concepts they choose to explore.

If the Welcome to Derry premiere (particularly the opening sequence) was any indication of how the rest of the series will go, I'm hopeful that it will exceed a lot of fans' expectations. There was no shortage of blood and gore, and I quickly became invested in the characters. There were enough similarities to what we already know about Derry and its grim past that it was clearly a continuation of that universe, while still feeling fresh and building suspense.

For King to be caught off guard by the ideas Muschietti had for the show is a large vote of confidence for me, and I look forward to hearing what his thoughts are as we delve deeper each week. I'll be on the edge of my seat waiting for the next episode!

Watch new episodes of It: Welcome to Derry on HBO and HBO Max on Sunday nights!