Last week, Stephen King fans got some distressing news when it was reported that Pennywise actor Bill Skarsgård is not presently attached to reprise his IT/IT Chapter Two role in the prequel series Welcome To Derry – but that update has now been balanced by a very exciting update about the developing HBO Max show. Skarsgård may not end up being a part of the cast, but talented actors Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, and James Remar reportedly will be.
The latest about Welcome To Derry comes to us via Variety, but the trade sadly does not have any information about the roles that the various performers will play on the show. The series will mark the first time that Paige, Chalk and Remar have been a part of a project connected to the world of Stephen King, but Adepo is now on the road to become one of the many veteran King actors. Constant Readers will remember that a few years ago he played Larry Underwood in the miniseries remake of The Stand that was made as an exclusive for Paramount+ (at the time known as CBS All Access).
Taylour Paige had a breakout year in 2020 when she played the titular role in the critically acclaimed indie Zola and starred in Netflix's Oscar-nominated Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. She has mostly done feature work since then, making Welcome To Derry a bit of a deviation for her.
In addition to being a part of the ensemble cast in The Stand (which co-starred Bill Skarsgård's brother, Alexander Skarsgård), Jovan Adepo is best known for playing the lead in the World War II-set horror film Overlord and for his stunning role on Damon Lindelof's Watchmen miniseries for HBO. He was most recently featured in Damien Chazelle's Hollywood-centric epic Babylon, and has completed work on Netflix's developing adaptation of The Three Body Problem.
A character actor who has been working in the industry for nearly 20 years, Chris Chalk's long career includes recurring roles on shows including Homeland, The Newsroom, Underground, Gotham, and Shining Girls (which notably earned the praise of Stephen King shortly after it premiered on Apple TV+). Most recently he has been earning acclaim for his work in another HBO Max original: the reboot of Perry Mason.
Chalk is a veteran performer, but James Remar has nearly 30 more years of experience on him, having earned a reputation in the industry as a stalwart character actor. Given the fact that Remar has been consistently working since the late 1970s, it's actually surprising that Welcome To Derry will be his first time working on a Stephen King-related film or show – though he has been in two King-adjacent projects: Tales From The Darkside: The Movie (which features a segment based on the short story "The Cat From Hell") and an episode of the Creepshow anthology TV series (which launched with an adaptation of "Grey Matter.")
Remar has been a part of far too many notable titles to list all of them here, but some of his recent work includes Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, the CW series Black Lightning, and the reboot of Magnum P.I. on NBC.
The specific plot and period setting of Welcome To Derry has not yet been revealed, but the show will be in canon with IT and IT Chapter Two, and the pilot will be helmed by the filmmaker behind those two horror blockbusters: Andy Muschietti. Muschietti, along with his sister/producing partner Barbara Muschietti, are producing the series, and Jason Fuchs and Brad Caleb Kane have been hired as co-showrunners.
You can read more about Welcome To Derry via our Quick Things guide, and learn about all of the King adaptations that are currently in the works with our Upcoming Stephen King Movies and TV feature.
