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A Half-Hour Trip Into the Western Wood, Long Before the Clown Came to Town
Fans who went to bed early on Halloween Eve woke up to a treat. HBO slipped a brand-new chapter of its Stephen King prequel onto HBO Max with zero advance warning, a 30-minute special that steps far outside the 1962 timeline of the first season. Screen Rant has the rundown on what the surprise drop brings to the table.
The special follows three children who wander into the Western Wood, the dense forest on the edge of Derry, and come face to face with an ancient and very hostile spirit. Rather than another round with Pennywise in his familiar painted form, the story digs into the deep history of the land itself and the evil that has been festering there for generations.
The bigger surprise for longtime Constant Readers is the debut of Maturin. The colossal cosmic Turtle has been part of King’s mythology since the original 1986 novel and echoes through The Dark Tower saga as one of the Guardians of the Beams. In King’s lore, Maturin stands for creation and order and is the creature’s oldest enemy, so his arrival raises the question of whether the show is laying track for a bigger clash down the line.
The Halloween release lands while the series is in the middle of building its second season. HBO renewed the show over the summer, and showrunner Brad Caleb Kane has teased a jump back to 1935, describing the new run as a Depression-era gangster picture filtered through Pennywise. Kane has also said the writers have broken more than half the season and are edging toward pre-production, with filming expected in 2027.
Series: IT: Welcome to Derry
Special: “A Story of Derry”
Network: HBO / HBO Max
Runtime: Approximately 30 minutes
Showrunner: Brad Caleb Kane
Executive Producers: Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, Brad Caleb Kane
Based On: IT by Stephen King
Availability: Streaming now on HBO Max
Source: Reporting and confirmation via Screen Rant.