IT: Welcome to Derry Trailer Teases Meteor Origin

HBO's IT: Welcome to Derry will premiere on HBO/HBO Max on October 26, 2025, and its newly released full trailer teases an early Pennywise appearance and suggests an origin tied to a meteor striking Earth. The trailer also foregrounds 1960s Derry’s darker social fabric—introducing the Black Hanlon family, hints of racism, and a child's disappearance—signaling the series will probe community horror as well as supernatural terror. Early coverage is calling it a leading contender for 2025’s scariest TV series, likening its potential impact to landmark horror TV such as The Haunting of Hill House. More broadly, Stephen King’s work has profoundly shaped film and popular culture—informing psychological horror and coming-of-age drama—with adaptations like Stand By Me becoming cultural touchstones even as King’s own screenplays receive mixed reviews (for example, A Good Marriage). King’s debut cinematic hit Carrie (1976) endures as a genre landmark—commercially successful, two-time Oscar-nominated, and preserved in the U.S. National Film Registry.