**Contains Spoilers for “It: Welcome to Derry”**
The latest chapter in the saga of Pennywise the Dancing Clown arrives with *It: Welcome to Derry*. For anyone with coulrophobia, prepare your defenses—especially after the horrifying opening sequence. Watch the video above to find out more about one of TV’s most shocking scenes of the year.
Set in 1962, this newest installment aims to provide more backstory to tell the entire *It* story, focusing on the parts that fans may still have questions about. Filmmaker Andy Muschietti explained to *Entertainment Weekly* how the seeds for *It: Welcome to Derry* were planted during his direction of the original *It* movies.
Muschietti had tried to figure out how to incorporate the interludes from the Stephen King novel where Mike Hanlon follows the history of Pennywise in Derry but realized it would be too much to include in the films. Eventually, he pitched a prequel show to HBO.
*”It’s all pieces of a puzzle,”* Muschietti said. *”I thought it would be a great idea to grab all those pieces and build the puzzle in front of an audience and engage them in a story that eventually would give more substance to what the movies are.”*
While *It: Welcome to Derry* is set in the past, many of its characters have links to those introduced in the movies and other Stephen King stories. Most fans now know that *The Shining’s* Dick Hallorann (Chris Chalk), as well as Mike Hanlon’s grandfather Leroy (Jovan Adepo) and father Will (Blake Cameron James), play pivotal roles in Pennywise’s dark history.
There are other notable associations and familial connections lurking in the background as well, but we don’t want to spoil those surprises here.
Fans may also recall the chilling under-the-bridge encounter between Xavier Dolan’s character and Don Hagarty (Taylor Frey) with Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) in 2019’s *It: Chapter Two*. That scene takes a turn no one could have expected, especially when Matty catches a lift with the family.
Since everyone is abuzz about the disturbing *It: Welcome to Derry* opening scene, let’s take a deeper dive and find out more about it. Hit play and watch the video above for an in-depth look.
https://www.looper.com/2008303/it-welcome-to-derry-opening-scene-brutal/
