New IT TV Show References Classic 1950s Sci-Fi Movie With a Remarkable Real-Life Stephen King Connection

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Derry, Maine – the town made famous by the terrifying Pennywise the Dancing Clown – is back in the spotlight with the new series, IT: Welcome to Derry. The show tells a brand new story about the evil force behind Pennywise, taking place in 1962 – decades before the events of the original story. It’s based on parts of Stephen King’s novel that showed the town’s dark history, and explores tragic events that were only briefly mentioned in previous movies and series.

Warning: Spoilers below for IT: Welcome to Derry, Episode 1

I just finished the first episode of IT: Welcome to Derry, and it’s really drawn me in! It introduces a new group of kids who are being terrorized by this evil thing hiding in the sewers. We meet Phil and Terry, who are best friends, and they’re trying to figure out what happened to their classmate, Matty. I immediately liked Phil – he’s really into space and aliens, and his room is covered in stuff about it. There’s even a poster for the old movie Earth vs. Flying Saucers on his wall, which I thought was a cool detail. Apparently, it’s a little nod to Stephen King himself – I looked it up and found out he was a fan of that movie when he was growing up! It’s little things like that that make the show so interesting.

What’s Stephen King’s Connection to Earth vs. Flying Saucers?

Stephen King himself wrote about the impact of the movie Earth vs. Flying Saucers in the introduction to his 1981 book, Danse Macabre. He described how seeing the alien invasion film as a child helped him understand fear and became a key influence on his career as a horror writer. He recalled that the experience of watching the movie was suddenly interrupted when it stopped playing and the theater manager nervously appeared on stage. This unexpected shift – from the fictional horror on screen to the possibility of something frightening happening in real life – created a powerful feeling of awe and terror that King spent his life trying to recreate in his stories.

I remember exactly where I was when everything stopped. We were all sitting in the dark, totally absorbed in the movie – right at the best part, you know, the climax of a Saturday matinee. Then the manager came out, and he looked awful – pale and really shaken. We just sat there like fools, wondering what could possibly interrupt a movie at such a crucial moment. His voice was trembling so badly when he spoke, it immediately made everyone uneasy. Then he told us the news: the Russians had launched a satellite into space – they called it Sputnik. It was a world-changing moment, and we were experiencing it right there in the movie theater.

At that moment, the fun, imagined threat of aliens in the movie Earth vs. Flying Saucers was overshadowed by the very real fear of the Cold War and the launch of Sputnik. This unexpected shift from a playful afternoon at the movies to a genuine sense of danger was a key experience for the young Stephen King. It’s no surprise that this combination of everyday life and true horror—and the mixing of childhood imagination with adult worries—became a hallmark of King’s writing, making the reference to the film in Welcome to Derry a smart and knowing tribute.

New episodes of IT: Welcome to Derry premiere on HBO every Sunday.

What Stephen King references are you excited to find in IT: Welcome to Derry? Share your thoughts in the comments and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum!

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2025-10-29 16:15