The IT: Welcome To Derry Timeline After Season 1: I Asked The Co-Showrunner About The Future Of 1962 And The Potential Of 2044

by

The first season of IT: Welcome to Derry is wrapping up on HBO, leaving Stephen King fans wondering what’s next. There’s been a lot of discussion about the show’s potential future, with plans possibly extending to seasons set in 1935 and 1908. But will these new storylines mean saying goodbye to the characters we’ve come to know in 1962? Could we also see Derry, Maine explored in the years to come?

I’m a big fan of figuring out timelines, so I was excited to ask Jason Fuchs – co-showrunner of IT: Welcome to Derry and one of the series’ developers alongside Andy and Barbara Muschietti – about the future of the show during our recent virtual interview. Following last week’s look at how Bill Skarsgård joined the cast, this week I’m exploring what we might see happen next (though a second season hasn’t been officially confirmed yet). There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get started.

Just Because Welcome To Derry Season 1 Is Ending Doesn’t Mean We’re Saying Goodbye To The Main Characters

When I heard that IT: Welcome to Derry was planned as a three-season series, I expected it to be similar to FX’s Fargo. Like Fargo, it would all take place in the same universe with connecting storylines, but each season would tell its own self-contained story with a new set of characters.

Watching the new Stephen King series has made me reconsider how I thought the story would unfold. I was particularly surprised by the extensive flashbacks in episodes 6 and 7, which jumped back to 1935 and 1908. These flashbacks got me thinking about whether we might see scenes set in the future – perhaps in 1962 – later on in the series.

I discussed my ideas with Jason Fuchs, and he assured me there wasn’t a firm plan determining the end of Season 1 as the last we’d see of the Hanlons, Grogans, Lilly Bainbridge, and Marge Truman. According to the filmmaker,

Just because we’ve touched on the events of 1962 doesn’t mean that storyline is finished. Stephen King’s ‘IT’ is such a complex and layered novel that there are always new possibilities for adapting it. With its rich mythology, compelling characters, and extensive history, the stories within this world can evolve in many surprising ways. You should anticipate the unexpected!

If you need a reminder of what happens in Derry, the creature known as IT is a terrifying monster that gets stronger by feeding on people’s fear, especially children. It falls into a deep sleep for 27 years. After the events of 1962, it sleeps until 1989, which is when the movie IT: Chapter One takes place. Even though the characters who survived the first encounters with Pennywise might not face him directly again, there’s still more to learn about what happened to them.

The upcoming IT: Welcome to Derry show will explore the history of Derry, going back in time to show key events beyond the story of The Black Spot. The series plans to cover incidents like the 1935 Bradley Gang massacre and the 1908 explosion at Kitchener Ironworks. However, according to writer Jason Fuchs, viewers should expect some unexpected twists and turns along the way.

We’ve discussed the possibility of exploring storylines set in 1935 and 1908 for seasons two and three, and while those are options, I’m open to anything. One of the most exciting parts of telling these stories is the potential for unexpected twists, surprises, and time periods.

While IT: Welcome to Derry and IT: Chapter 2 thoroughly examine the 20th century – with the latter largely taking place in 2016 – it makes you wonder about what might happen next. I discussed this possibility with a co-showrunner of the HBO series.

Welcome To Derry: 2044?

Did Pennywise truly die? While the adult Losers Club appears to defeat the creature in Stephen King’s IT (and the movie IT: Chapter 2), fans have been given hints that IT might still exist. King included clues in his later works: graffiti reading “Pennywise Lives” appeared on a memorial in the novel Dreamcatcher (2001), and the terrifying Deadlights returned in Later (2021). Though King hasn’t fully brought Pennywise back since the original IT novel in 1986, many wonder if the upcoming IT: Welcome To Derry could change that.

Based on the established timeline of the IT films and the Welcome to Derry series, Pennywise could reappear in 2044 – 27 years after the events of 2016. If the series includes scenes set after 1962, it’s possible we might see Derry as it would be in 2044, which is only about 18 years from now. While Jason Fuchs hasn’t ruled out showing that time period, he thinks it might be best to let Stephen King himself tell that part of the story if it happens.

You never know where a story will lead, so I’m open to all possibilities. However, I do see a difference between stories specifically set in the world of ‘Welcome to Derry’ and those that simply take place within the larger Stephen King universe. When it comes to Derry, I imagine we’ll be exploring its past more than its future.

Given how the show is evolving, this makes sense. While the creators are adding their own ideas and storylines – like Ingrid Kersh’s motivations to bring back her father – everything in IT: Welcome to Derry still stays true to the original Stephen King novel. Jumping ahead to 2044 would move beyond that source material and potentially stray too far from King’s vision.

Following my previous comments about Dreamcatcher and Later, Jason Fuchs mentioned that Insomnia is also set in Derry, taking place after the Losers Club defeats IT. He highlighted a difference in timelines between the books and their adaptations – in the books, the adult Losers defeated IT in 1985, meaning they would return in 2012. Currently, Fuchs and the other writers are staying true to the original source material. He also added,

We know ‘Insomnia’ takes place in the same universe as ‘IT’, specifically after the events of the book, not just the second movie. So there are definitely more stories we could tell about Derry. However, we haven’t really thought about what might happen beyond the first season of ‘Welcome to Derry’; we’ve been focused on that for now.

The chances of seeing a sequel to It called Welcome to Derry seem very slim, but here’s a fun story: back in 2019, when I interviewed the original young cast – Jaeden Martell, Finn Wolfhard, Chosen Jacobs, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Jack Dylan Grazer, Wyatt Oleff, and Sophia Lillis – I asked if they’d be interested in revisiting their roles in a remake set in 2044. Surprisingly, they all loved the idea! While a return of Pennywise isn’t guaranteed (Stephen King is currently working on Talisman 3, which doesn’t have a release date yet), fans can still hope this project might happen someday.

Read More

2025-12-11 20:15