Welcome to Derry Lays The Foundation For Stephen King’s Dark Tower Story

HBO Max’s new Stephen King horror show, IT: Welcome to Derry, provides the perfect setup for Mike Flanagan’s highly anticipated adaptation of another beloved story by the author. Six years after the debut of It: Chapter Two, Andy Muschietti and his producing partner Barbara Muschietti are bringing a terrifying Pennywise prequel story to the small screen.

The HBO Max series is planned for three seasons, though only the first one is confirmed. Each season will follow one of the interludes from Stephen King’s It book. The first season will delve into the tragedy at the Black Spot nightclub.

However, it won’t just focus on Pennywise’s reign of terror since arriving in Derry, Maine. Instead, IT: Welcome to Derry will also delve into another part of the supernatural entity’s backstory that lays the foundation for Mike Flanagan’s upcoming Stephen King adaptation.

IT: Welcome To Derry Is Officially Connected To Stephen King’s The Dark Tower Story

Back at San Diego Comic Con 2025, Director Andy Muschietti said that the HBO IT prequel would answer some of the questions and mysteries about Pennywise’s origins. Since then, he’s hinted at what that will look like. When speaking to TV Insider, he confirmed that IT: Welcome to Derry will connect to the larger Stephen King macroverse.

For this reason, IT: Welcome to Derry will be a great show to watch prior to Mike Flanagan’s planned Dark Tower TV adaptation. While the HBO show probably won’t get into all the little details about the macroverse, it will be a good introduction to the concept, which plays a major role in The Dark Tower’s story.

This is doubly true if IT: Welcome to Derry introduces Maturin the Turtle. He’s part of Stephen King’s It book, making him an ideal candidate for the TV show. Moreover, he’s one of the guardians of the beams in The Dark Tower.

Mike Flanagan’s The Dark Tower Series Wouldn’t Directly Connect To Welcome To Derry

No matter how much of the macroverse IT: Welcome to Derry explores, Mike Flanagan’s The Dark Tower series won’t show the identical versions of the same character. They would have to be separate takes on the same character, much like It: Welcome to Derry and The Shining. The movie and TV show both feature Dick Halloran, but they are separate versions.

The connected but unconnected universes would exist for two big reasons. Firstly, IT: Welcome to Derry and The Dark Tower are being made by different filmmakers. Secondly, the series will most likely debut on different streaming services. IT: Welcome to Derry is slated for an HBO Max release, but The Dark Tower will likely appear on Prime Video.