Trick or treat! It looks like we have an all-new episode to add to our Halloween Specials page we just launched for the big spooky holiday. Only Pennywise isn’t coming along for this ride. Which, in my book? That’s okay. He kind of overstayed his welcome at Ross this year.
HBO Max has surprised It: Welcome to Derry fans with a new 30-minute special episode for Halloween. Titled “A Story of Derry,” the standalone release is streaming now and takes viewers hundreds of years before Pennywise began terrorizing the town. You can watch the special over at HBO Max right now. Stop putting your costume on and go watch it before heading out to the big soiree.
The special follows three Indigenous youngsters who venture into the Western Wood, the forest outside Derry where the entity known as It first crash-landed on Earth. Their journey brings them face to face with what HBO Max describes as a terrifying ancient spirit. The story reaches back to a period long before the events of the series, expanding on the history of the land and the presence that would eventually become Derry’s greatest nightmare.
Tazbah Chavez, whose credits include Reservation Dogs, directed the episode. The script comes from novelist Cherie Dimaline and Jasmyne Flournoy, who previously worked on The Acolyte. The special also brings together several performers associated with the series’ Indigenous characters, including Kimberly Guerrero, Morningstar Angeline, and Kiawentiio. Zahn McClarnon is also part of the cast.
HBO Max announced the release on Halloween, calling “A Story of Derry” a never-before-seen special exploring the origins of It in Derry. Viewers can stream it with standard audio or choose a separate American Sign Language version.
The surprise episode arrives while fans wait for the second season of It: Welcome to Derry. HBO renewed the series in August, with Season 2 moving the story back to 1935 during the Great Depression. The next chapter is expected to focus on the Bradley Gang massacre, another of the catastrophic events buried in Derry’s history.
“A Story of Derry” offers a much earlier look at the town and the ancient presence connected to its dark past. It is available to stream now on HBO Max.
