Welcome To Derry was designed to answer three major questions that Stephen King’s novel did not ask

It’s pretty impressive that Jason Fuchs, Andy and Barbara Muschietti were able to successfully deliver a high-profile HBO series that delves into the finer details of Stephen King’s universe. But that’s exactly what they’ve done with “It: Welcome to Derry,” which promises to be crucial viewing for King fans. As the series progresses, we’ll learn more about the history of the titular town as well as the evil entity that drives Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise. To achieve this, the series will answer three major questions left unanswered at the end of King’s 1986 novel.

2017’s “It” and 2019’s “It: Chapter Two,” both directed by Andy Muschietti, successfully adapted the original book, but the new series uses that book simply as inspiration. Specifically, “Welcome to Derry” takes various interludes from the novel, which describe moments from Derry’s past, and essentially expands on them, building a whole new story on that basis. This new tale is set in 1962 and features many of the Losers’ Club backstory from both films, alongside several new characters who find themselves confronted by the emergence of It, which wreaks its usual havoc. While “Welcome to Derry” is a surprisingly creepy and horrific series in that regard, it’s also actually much more than just a prequel series.

Speaking to IndieWire, Andy and his older sister, Barbara, described how their idea for the series stemmed from their desire to explore the “puzzles” left behind by both the novel and their two film adaptations. As Andy explained, there were three main questions he and his sister were trying to answer: “What is it?” What does he want? And why is he in this plane of existence?

When Andy and Barbara Muschietti first pitched “It: Welcome to Derry,” they had an ambitious trilogy concept in mind. Since the titular evil appears every 27 years, the idea was to go back in 27-year increments over three seasons and highlight those moments when all hell breaks loose in the Maine town. We now know what motivates such a journey, with the Muschiettis providing more insight into their thought process during their interview with IndieWire.

As Andy said: “I think Stephen King deliberately creates an unfinished puzzle, and these questions are the driving force. These big questions are the driving force of the book, and they are the heart of the book. There is a great mystery because of these big question marks that are never answered.” The co-creator who directed the first four episodes of “Welcome to Derry” Season 1, added that the three big questions he identified will be addressed in the show’s larger arc, which, given that there are three seasons planned, could mean we’ll get an answer to each at the end of each season.

If the series is renewed for a second and third season, we will travel back in time to 1935 and finally to 1908, when she awoke following an explosion. It is at this point that we will likely learn the answer to this third and most important question: why is He in this plane of existence? What’s missing from this three-question framework, however, is the fact that “Welcome to Derry” isn’t just about explaining it. According to Andy, the series is designed to “reveal the iceberg beneath the water over the course of three seasons, and we’ll talk about a larger mythology that ties into Stephen King’s other works.”

Anyone unfamiliar with Stephen King’s work might be surprised to learn that there is a dense tradition connecting all of the novels together. This interconnected universe is known as the macroverse and is somewhat explained in the “Dark Tower” books, which fill in many of the gaps in King’s history of cosmology. Without going too in-depth, casual fans will probably be unaware that the unsung hero of “It” was a giant turtle named Maturin, who exists in the macroverse and represents perfect benevolence.

This is what Andy Muschietti and “It: Welcome to Derry” ultimately seem to be concerned with. The series previously featured a nod to Maturin in its first episode, following several similar Easter eggs from the films that hinted at the filmmakers’ awareness of the larger story surrounding his films. Similarly, the first episode of “Welcome to Derry” features a moment where Lily (Clara Stack) trades a rocket charm for a turtle charm with Matty (Miles Ekhardt). While this is just a small acknowledgment of the meta-narrative at play behind the scenes of the “It” story, it’s only the beginning, and with the Muschiettis seemingly determined to dig deeper into their HBO series, we’re not only going to see these three big questions answered, but discover even bigger ones along the way.

The real big question is whether the series will actually reach three seasons. So far, HBO has yet to greenlight a second set of episodes, but “Welcome to Derry” has done well so far, dominating HBO Max’s top charts and, according to Variety, becoming HBO Max’s third-biggest premiere ever. All of this bodes well for those waiting to see Maturin’s secrets revealed.