Few horror villains loom as large as Pennywise, and the decision to explore his origins before the Losers’ Club ever picked up a weapon is a tantalizing prospect. The upcoming HBO series It: Welcome to Derry promises to expand Stephen King’s terrifying universe, and the cast already announced offers strong hints about the story’s direction. With Bill Skarsgård confirmed to return as the Dancing Clown, and a lineup that mixes fresh faces with seasoned actors, here is everything confirmed about the Welcome to Derry cast so far.

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Number of announced cast members: 10 ·
Release year: 2025 ·
Character Pennywise portrayed by: Bill Skarsgård ·
Based on: Stephen King’s It

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts
2What’s unclear
3Timeline signal
4What’s next
  • Premieres on HBO in 2025 (TV Guide (program listing))
  • No season 2 or season 3 confirmed (TV Guide (program listing))
The upshot

The cast roster already tells a focused story: unlike the 2017 film’s emphasis on a group of kids, Welcome to Derry leans into adult characters—military veterans, parents, and town authorities—suggesting the series will explore how Derry’s grown-ups failed to confront the evil under their streets.

What is the release date of Welcome to Derry?

The series It: Welcome to Derry is targeting a 2025 premiere on HBO, according to TV Guide (program listing database) and corroborated by multiple entertainment outlets. As of now, HBO has not locked in a specific month or day. The implication: fans should stay patient, as post-production for a 1960s period horror series likely pushes any firm date announcement into early 2025.

Has the exact date been announced?

No. The only confirmed detail is the year: 2025. Industry watchers are watching for an HBO Max / Max rollout schedule, but the studio has not issued a firm premiere date. Given the complexity of post-production on a period horror series set in the 1960s, don’t expect a date before early 2025.

Is it a 2025 release?

Yes. Multiple sources, including Rotten Tomatoes (tiered cast database) and Cosmopolitan (entertainment news desk), confirm the 2025 target. The series has been in development since 2022, and the cast was largely assembled by mid-2024. The pattern: the long production ramp suggests HBO is treating this as a flagship horror property, not a rushed streaming filler.

Bottom line: Welcome to Derry will arrive in 2025 on HBO. If you’re a fan waiting for a specific premiere date, you’ll have to sit tight until HBO announces its 2025 schedule. For streaming subscribers: expect it on Max, not theatrical release.

Who are the main cast members of Welcome to Derry?

Eleven principal cast members have been confirmed by Rotten Tomatoes (tiered cast database), with character assignments published by TV Guide (program listing database). One clear pattern: the show features a higher proportion of adult characters than the 2017 film, reflecting its prequel time frame.

Six actors, one core pattern: a mix of military, law enforcement, and family roles that frame Derry as a town with institutional authority figures.

Actor Character Role description
Bill Skarsgård Pennywise The shape-shifting entity that feeds on children’s fear
Jovan Adepo Leroy Hanlon A married U.S. Air Force pilot and Korean War veteran (Vague Visages (entertainment analysis))
Taylour Paige Charlotte Hanlon Leroy’s wife, part of the Hanlon family narrative
Chris Chalk Dick Hallorann Adult version of the character seen in The Shining; links the King cinematic universe
James Remar General Shaw Military authority figure in Derry
Stephen Rider Hank Grogan Derry town role (specifics TBA)
Kimberly Guerrero Unconfirmed Main cast, details pending
Peter Outerbridge Unconfirmed Main cast, details pending

What this means: the adult-heavy cast is a deliberate storytelling choice, centering authority figures who either ignored or enabled Pennywise’s 1960s rampage.

What characters do the main actors play?

The Hanlon family—Leroy and Charlotte—anchor the series emotionally. Vague Visages (entertainment analysis) reports that Leroy Hanlon, played by Jovan Adepo, is a married U.S. Air Force pilot and Korean War veteran, placing the story squarely in the early 1960s. That’s a significant departure from the 1990 miniseries and the 2017 film, both of which centered on children. The implication: the series will explore how the adults of Derry—those with power and authority—failed to see what was happening, or actively enabled it.

The catch: a few main cast members—Kimberly Guerrero and Peter Outerbridge—have confirmed roles but still lack named characters in published source material.

Who is Taylour Paige?

Taylour Paige is an American actress known for Zola (2020) and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020). In Welcome to Derry, she plays Charlotte Hanlon, the wife of U.S. Air Force pilot Leroy Hanlon (Rotten Tomatoes (tiered cast database)). She is one of the series’ leads and is expected to have significant screen time.

What to watch

The Hanlon family name connects directly to the 2017 film’s Mike Hanlon, the Losers’ Club historian. If the series follows the Hanlons in Derry circa 1962, viewers should expect a direct narrative bridge to Mike’s backstory—potentially explaining how his family’s history in Derry ties to Pennywise’s cycles of awakening every 27 years.

Who are the kid cast members in Welcome to Derry?

While the adult cast dominates the announcement, several younger actors have been confirmed by TV Guide (program listing database) and Rotten Tomatoes (tiered cast database). Their roles appear to be smaller, but they’ll likely be the characters we see most at risk.

Actor Character Notes
Matilda Lawler Marge Truman (per TV Guide) Rotten Tomatoes lists Matilda without a character label; medium confidence on exact name
Clara Stack Lilly Character name confirmed by Rotten Tomatoes
Mikkal Karim-Fidler Terry Character name confirmed by Rotten Tomatoes
Blake Cameron James Will Hanlon Likely a younger relative of the Hanlon family
Arian S. Cartaya Rich Santos Child role in Derry
Jack Molloy-legault Phil Medium-confidence source; role likely minor

The pattern: the small number of child roles signals that the series is not a direct adaptation of the Losers’ Club storyline.

Who plays the young versions of characters?

No young version of the Losers’ Club has been confirmed. The kid cast comprises entirely new characters—not younger versions of Beverly, Bill, or Richie. The trade-off: this allows the series to tell its own story without being constrained by the 2017 film’s casting, but long-time fans hoping for young Bill Denbrough may be disappointed.

Are there child actors?

Yes. Six child or teenage actors are listed in the credits: Matilda Lawler (likely as Marge Truman per TV Guide (program listing database)), Clara Stack (Lilly), Mikkal Karim-Fidler (Terry), Blake Cameron James (Will Hanlon), Arian S. Cartaya (Rich Santos), and Jack Molloy-legault (Phil). These characters are presumably the children who encounter Pennywise during the 1960s cycle.

Why this matters

The kid cast is small and mostly unnamed in promotional materials—a deliberate choice. In the 2017 film, the Losers’ Club had seven core members. Here, fewer child characters suggests the series focuses on the wider community’s response to disappearances rather than a single group of kids hunting the monster. For viewers expecting a direct prequel: you’ll get town politics and military tension, not a rehash of the kids-vs-clown dynamic.

What characters do specific actors like Lily, Ronnie, Marsh, and Amanda play?

Several common search queries point to four character names that appear in cast listings but require clarification: Lily, Ronnie, Marsh, and Amanda.

Who is Lily?

Lilly (note the double L spelling) is played by Clara Stack, according to Rotten Tomatoes (tiered cast database). Her character details have not been published yet, but she is listed in the kid cast section.

Who is Ronnie?

Ronnie is played by Amanda Christine, as confirmed by Rotten Tomatoes (tiered cast database). “Amanda Christine” is the actor; Ronnie is her character. No further description is publicly available.

Who is Marsh?

No actor is currently credited with the surname Marsh in the main Welcome to Derry cast. This may be a confusion with the 2017 film’s Beverly Marsh—she is not confirmed for the series. The pattern: early search queries sometimes conflate the prequel’s character list with the film’s, but no Marsh appears in the official credits.

Who is Amanda?

Amanda Christine is the actor, not a character. See “Who is Ronnie?” above. No character named Amanda has been announced for the series.

Bottom line: The name confusion is understandable—the cast list is still filling out. If you’re searching for Lily, Ronnie, or Amanda, those are character or actor names from the Rotten Tomatoes credits, but detailed role descriptions haven’t been released. For fans hunting Beverly Marsh connections: don’t expect her to appear. The series is focused on new characters in the 1960s timeline.

Is there a season 3 of Welcome to Derry?

No. Only season 1 has been announced, and no official renewal has been issued by HBO. TV Guide (program listing database) lists 20 cast credits for Season 1, suggesting a single-season production plan for now.

How many seasons are planned?

HBO has not confirmed a multi-season order. Industry speculation suggests the show could run 2-3 seasons if successful, given the source material’s 27-year cycle and the 1960s setting leaves room for a second time jump.

Has season 3 been confirmed?

No. Any references to season 3 online are speculative. For a series that hasn’t aired its first episode yet, renewal talk is premature. The implication: treat season 1 as a contained story, not a trilogy opener.

The catch

Search volume for “season 3 of Welcome to Derry” appears to stem from confusion with another show or from fans assuming the series will run as long as the films. In reality, HBO is likely to evaluate the series after season 1 airs in 2025 before committing further. For fans hoping for a multi-year arc: treat season 1 as a contained story, not a trilogy opener.

Cast connections to the IT film universe

The most significant connection is Bill Skarsgård’s return as Pennywise—he is also an executive producer on the series. Chris Chalk’s casting as Dick Hallorann creates a direct link to The Shining continuity, establishing that Stephen King’s Derry and the Overlook Hotel share a timeline. The Hanlon family name (Leroy and Charlotte) ties directly to the 2017 film’s Mike Hanlon, played by Chosen Jacobs.

The pattern

The Welcome to Derry cast is building a shared Stephen King universe on screen—not just a prequel, but a bridge between the It movies and The Shining. If Chris Chalk’s Dick Hallorann appears in multiple time periods, the show will explicitly connect the two King masterworks. For fans of the books, this is the first time the 27-year cycle gets a live-action exploration outside the Losers’ Club perspective.

Quick facts table

Five key data points, one pattern: the series takes a grounded character approach rather than a monster-of-the-week structure.

Label Value
Series Title It – Welcome to Derry
Based on It by Stephen King
Lead Actor Bill Skarsgård
Premiere Year 2025
Number of Episodes TBA
Setting 1960s Derry, Maine (Cosmopolitan (entertainment news desk))
Network HBO
Streaming Max
Showrunner Jason Fuchs (Wonder Woman), based on a story by Andy Muschietti
Additional sources

en.wikipedia.org

Fans eager to see who else joins the series can explore the comprehensive Welcome to Derry full cast list, which includes both new and returning characters.

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Frequently asked questions

Is Bill Skarsgård in Welcome to Derry?

Yes. Bill Skarsgård returns as Pennywise the Dancing Clown and serves as an executive producer on the series (Rotten Tomatoes (tiered cast database)).

Who plays the adult versions of the Losers?

No adult Losers’ Club members have been cast. The series is set in the 1960s, before the Losers were children. The adults in the show are new characters such as the Hanlons and General Shaw.

What is the age rating?

The age rating has not been officially announced. Given the horror elements and the 2017 film’s R rating, a TV-MA rating is likely.

How many episodes are in season 1?

The number of episodes has not been confirmed. TV Guide (program listing database) lists 20 cast credits, but episode counts remain TBA.

Is Welcome to Derry a direct prequel?

Yes. The series is set in the 1960s, before the events of the 2017 film It (Cosmopolitan (entertainment news desk)). It explores Pennywise’s earlier cycle of terror.

Who is the main antagonist?

Pennywise, played by Bill Skarsgård, is the primary antagonist.

Where is it filmed?

Specific filming locations have not been announced by HBO. The 2017 film shot in Ontario, Canada.

Will there be a season 2?

No season 2 has been confirmed. HBO is expected to evaluate viewership after season 1 airs in 2025.

Related reading

For the Welcome to Derry cast, the picture is still coming into focus. What we know: a strong ensemble anchored by Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise, a deliberate shift toward adult characters, and a 1960s setting that opens new storytelling possibilities. What’s missing: exact release date, full character breakdowns, and multi-season commitment. For fans of Stephen King’s It, the decision is clear: follow the cast announcements closely through early 2025, or wait for the premiere to meet these new residents of Derry.