It: Welcome To Derry’s Finale Spoilers, Last Minute Rewrites & Biggest Challenges Broken Down By Barbara Muschietti [Exclusive]

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Be warned: This post contains major spoilers for the finale of It: Welcome to Derry.

The season one finale was a terrifying onslaught from Pennywise, who devoured a gym full of students. The remaining members of the Losers Club – Mike, Lilly, Ronnie, Marge, and a spectral Rich – made a final stand, driving a magical dagger into the base of an ancient tree. This action strengthened the supernatural barriers that had held Pennywise captive for decades.

The episode also revealed some surprising twists. As many fans predicted, Marge will eventually become Richie’s mother, a character we meet in later It stories. Leroy and Charlotte decided to stay in Derry to be ready if the evil creature ever returned. Perhaps the most significant revelation was that time doesn’t work the same way for Pennywise, which explains why he’s still a threat to Derry.

Barbara Muschietti, an executive producer, recently discussed with ComicBook the upcoming portrayal of a truly frightening Pennywise, the reappearance of the character Rich, unexpected guest appearances, the possibility of exploring Derry’s family histories, and the introduction of a new Losers Club for future stories.

The final scene begins with Pennywise attacking a school, a much larger attack than he’s ever attempted before. Was this done to emphasize how truly dangerous and unrestrained IT has become?

As a huge fan of this series, I really appreciate how much effort went into making the finale something special. The creators kept pushing themselves to deliver bigger and better moments throughout the whole show, balancing genuine scares with heartfelt emotion. They knew they needed to end with a truly massive climax, and letting Pennywise really go wild was the perfect way to do it. Honestly, a lot of making something this ambitious comes down to money, and they smartly saved a good portion of the budget for these final episodes. They actually streamlined the last episode a bit, making it tighter and more focused, but still kept that epic, sprawling feel we all expected.

It’s movie quality.

We’ve always felt unprepared for the demands of television production, and I apologize for saying that. It’s not that I dislike TV itself, but rather the limited budgets and tight deadlines directors often face. From the start, back in 2020 when the show was sold, we envisioned something ambitious and fought to make that happen. Thankfully, HBO was a fantastic partner who supported our vision and allowed us to create something truly large in scope – and that’s a major reason why the show has resonated with audiences. The production quality is comparable to that of a movie.

How much discussion and revision did it take to decide how the heroes would finally beat Pennywise in the last episode?

We faced a lot of changes, especially after the strike began, which required significant adjustments to our plans. The script really evolved right up until the last minute. Andy [Muschietti] is always striving for perfection, constantly refining things, even on the day of shooting. Thankfully, we have a fantastic cast who are comfortable with that process and understand that scenes might be altered after rehearsals. Andy really assesses what works during rehearsal, considering all the different elements, and he frequently rewrites things as he films.

What were some of the earlier drafts?

Looking back, some of the ideas we had were really wild, and that’s perfectly normal. It’s good to remember there are no truly bad ideas – just unconventional ones. Don’t be afraid to share anything that comes to mind, because you end up with a lot of ideas that way.

This hour was incredibly challenging for Dick, pushing him to his limits. The experience left us wondering if he emerged stronger and if it foreshadowed the character he would become in other stories by Stephen King.

At the start of the season, Dick is a man having trouble with his abilities, resisting and unwilling to use them. We established a history with Hallorann as a troubled youth constantly battling an inner struggle. This season, he plays a key role in escalating the conflict with Pennywise and faces an exceptionally powerful enemy – possibly the most powerful he’s ever encountered. We’ll see if he faces someone this formidable again.

Developing these abilities forces him to confront what they mean for his life. Once he has them, the challenge becomes learning to live with them. There’s a moment in the episode where he’s really struggling and feels like giving up, but he gets through it. This is a common journey for characters with this gift – we see it very clearly with Danny in Doctor Sleep, but it’s a core part of their experience. It’s a powerful ability, but it comes with a significant personal cost.

The four young characters receive unexpected assistance from Rich, a friend who was previously believed to be dead. Can you explain the decision to bring him back after his death in episode seven?

He felt compelled to return to the project. While Andy often jokes about wanting to make people cry, I prefer to make them laugh. In films like It, Mama, and The Flash, our goal is to leave audiences feeling positive. I can’t put it any better than that. I don’t want to contribute to sadness; I want to uplift our viewers. We all experience grief eventually, but this show offers a little hope – not in a religious sense, but a sense of universal connection. Especially in a place like Derry, it feels like no one truly disappears.

A surprisingly playful scene showed Rich, even after death, running to greet his friends and flipping off Pennywise.

Those are moments we live for. These are moments Andy brings because he’s a kid. 

Could you explain the final confrontation with Pennywise? What were the key moments that had to happen for the story to work?

The concept of time, and how it’s perceived, was crucial to understanding Pennywise. We realized he doesn’t experience time like humans do, which might change how we interpret what we’ve already seen. Back in 2020, we spoke with Damon Lindelof, and he mentioned he avoids prequels because he always knows the ending. That gave us an idea – we needed to flip that expectation. The final shot, focusing on the eyes, was meant to hint that time works differently for Pennywise, opening up many possibilities for future storylines.

What was the most difficult part of the episode to create, considering the physical demands, emotional impact, or visual effects?

The icy set was incredibly confusing to navigate. Thankfully, we had Joanna Moore as our assistant director – she thinks in a really unique way that helped us map out the space. With so many actors entering from different directions, it was a logistical nightmare, and I constantly got lost! Even working with my brother, who I completely trust, I often worried about how we’d make sense of everyone’s movements in the edit. It helped that we filmed everything on a stage, which created a beautiful, almost climactic feeling – it felt like we were already at the end. It was a really emotional experience, and there were a lot of tears.

Fans were surprised to see Beverly Marsh from the It movies make an appearance. Was actress Sophia Lillis simply available for the role? And how did her cameo contribute to the story?

Andy had a last-minute idea. We were already planning a short trip to Toronto in April for routine tasks, and he wanted to connect this trip to our films in a more meaningful way than just through the characters Marge and Richie. Our cameraman mentioned he’d recently worked with Joan Gregson, who looked wonderful. She had played Mrs. Kersh in a memorable scene we filmed with her. He explained he’d just worked with her and she was doing well. We were excited because we’d filmed with her when she was 85 years old.

Andy had the idea to portray Mrs. Kersh as Beverly would have seen her when she was a little girl, just before we meet the Losers Club in 1989. That’s why Beverly has long hair in that scene – it’s set before she joins the group. I contacted Sophia, and she immediately agreed to participate. She flew in from New York, and along with Joan, they created a truly remarkable scene that brings everything together. I feel very fortunate to have worked with Joan Gregson, who was fantastic on set, as she sadly passed away two months later. We’re eternally grateful for her contribution, and she clearly enjoyed being back on set.

Okay, so “Welcome to Derry” is clearly being built as a multi-season story – they’re aiming for at least three, which is ambitious! This latest season jumps back even further in time, all the way to 1935, and honestly, I’m left wondering how much of what we just saw was truly laying groundwork for future seasons versus being a relatively self-contained story. It feels like they’re carefully planting seeds, but whether those seeds will blossom into something truly significant remains to be seen. It’s a compelling chapter, but I’m eager to see if it was essential setup or just a fascinating detour.

This season isn’t a self-contained story. It allows us to delve into the histories of the characters’ ancestors, and also show us what’s happening with their living descendants. Because Pennywise doesn’t perceive time like we do, we have the freedom to jump around and explore different eras, and that’s something we’re really excited about.

One of the Losers Club members even suggested that Pennywise might have been able to kill their ancestors, preventing them from ever being born.

It’s not that simple, unfortunately. What we’re dealing with isn’t a small change causing a big outcome – it’s much more significant and complex than that.

In both 1962 and 1989, a group of kids managed to defeat Pennywise. Now, fans are wondering if the story will repeat itself, and if each season will focus on a different group of young heroes battling the evil clown.

It’s a simple truth: there will always be children. We enjoy working with them, though Pennywise mainly thrives on frightening them and using their fear. However, these children are also incredibly brave. Their pure belief is what gives them the power to fight this ancient evil, allowing them to overcome something so much bigger than themselves.

We want to keep viewers engaged and captivated, so we’re trying some new approaches. We’re really diving into the story and, importantly, we’ll always explore the characters’ family histories – that’s the most compelling part for me. The idea of Pennywise hibernating for 27 years is deliberate. It means he returns roughly every generation to cause trouble, then disappears until the next one. Ultimately, the story is about how trauma can be passed down through families and whether that cycle can be broken.

Did you see the finale of Welcome to Derry? What were your thoughts? Share your opinions in the comments and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum!

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2025-12-16 00:47