Welcome to Derry will further explore the evil clown's influence on the town, and people will get to see Pennywise doing what it does best. In the book, the monster has been responsible for Derry's horrific events, such as the 1906 Kitchener Ironworks explosion (killing 108 people), the murder of the Bradley Gang, and an incident in 1904 in which lumberjacks slaughtered a number of men at a bar. Pennywise is evil incarnate and arrived on Earth sometime after the dinosaurs died out but before the ice age, terrorizing the area ever since. While it's briefly explored in both IT and IT 2 (especially the latter), Pennywise has been a central figure in Derry's history as a small Maine town. Writer Jason Fuchs ( Wonder Woman) is confirmed to be working on the show along with Shelly Meals ( Shadow and Bone). The upcoming TV show recently opened up the writer's room, and the series is going to be set during the 1960s. It was first announced in March of 2022 that a prequel series to Muschietti's IT would be rolling out on HBO Max called Welcome to Derry. Various moments in King’s novel allude to the stranger danger panic as a partial influence on the book, as the kids who interact with Pennywise often view him as nothing but an innocent party clown. With so many children's birthday parties including performances from these actors, the fear of a murderous stranger such as Gacy was an all too real threat to American society. Because of this fact, all real clowns become immediate strangers. When clowns don their face paint, rainbow suits, and wigs, they are nearly unrecognizable. Related: Did Pennywise Die In IT: Chapter 2? It's Complicated With the threat of Gacy and other child murderers, the stranger danger panic grew in severity. During the Reagan administration, family values and safety were at the epicenter of his political platform. Former president Ronald Reagan started the campaign for increased criminal penalties for anyone who attempted to or did harm children. As the epidemic of child murders and kidnappings rose beyond belief, the “stranger danger” panic formed. Undoubtedly, the Gacy murders caused an immense amount of fear in the hearts of Americans, and once Pennywise was introduced, he further perpetuated the necessity to fear the people behind the white paint and red smiles.Īnother influence behind the IT novel was the "stranger danger" panic of the '80s. During the 1980s, a new wave of public fear permeated society. Whether it was a conscious influence or not remains unknown, but real-life horror often bleeds into fiction, especially when the reality is much more gruesome. When Gacy was convicted of his murders in 1980, King must have begun writing IT. While there is some debate on whether Gacy truly influenced the creation of Pennywise, the two are eerily similar, as both dress as clowns and target children. The IT character Pennywise may have been based on the serial killer. He was sentenced to death on March 13, 1980, and executed by lethal injection on May 10, 1994. He regularly performed at children’s hospitals in his clown attire under the name “Pogo the Clown” or “Patches the Clown.” On December 21, 1978, Gacy was arrested and convicted of 33 murders. John Wayne Gacy was a notorious serial killer and sex offender who often dressed as a clown. A shapeshifting clown from another dimension is scary enough, but the real-life influences that created him are even more disturbing and add an unnerving depth to the familiar horror icon Pennywise. While King was writing the lengthy novel, the influences of his surroundings and the headlines that were plastered all over news stations deeply impacted the creature that would become the heart of his novel. Pennywise and his abuse of children is central to the plot line in every adaptation and in the book itself. Related: What Does Pennywise Really Look Like In IT? Staying true to the source material, both films follow the “Losers Club” as adults and children as they battle the evil clown known as Pennywise who is murdering children in the town of Derry, Maine. Both have found success among King fans, whether as a cult following in the case of Wallace’s miniseries or with critical acclaim like Muschietti’s. In 20, Andy Muschietti took on the task of adapting the novel once more for theatrical release. The novel was initially adapted into a made-for-television miniseries by Tommy Lee Wallace of Halloween III: Season Of The Witch fame.
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