‘It: Welcome to Derry’ Surprise Halloween Episode Now Streaming On HBO Max

All treat, no trick: HBO Max has released a surprise episode of It: Welcome to Derry for Halloween.

“IT’s a surprise Halloween treat,” HBO Max posted on its Instagram page along with a brief clip of the episode (watch it below). “Catch this never-before-seen special exploring the origins of IT in Derry.”

The episode, “A Story of Derry,” is currently streaming on HBO Max.

Earlier this month, showrunner Brad Caleb Kane told Deadline that Season 2 of It: Welcome to Derry – expected to arrive in late 2027 or 2028 – will give fans a new version of Pennywise, with the evil clown (Bill Skarsgård) depicted in a “way you’ve never seen that character before.”

“We’re writing the scripts. We’re about halfway through the writing of the scripts,” said Kane. “We have a production schedule, we’re greenlit for a Season 2, and Andy Muschietti’s out there casting.”

Season 2 will be set during the Great Depression in 1935, and revolve around the bloody massacre of the Bradley Gang, a group of bank robbers who stop in Derry to buy ammo and end up facing unimaginable horror, another piece of town history depicted in King’s 1986 novel.

The surprise 30-minute Halloween episode’s logline: “Hundreds of years before Pennywise, three youngsters venture into the Western Wood … where they encounter a terrifying ancient spirit.” The Instagram clip depicts a Native American girl running through the woods, bow and arrow at the ready.

It: Welcome to Derry premiered on HBO Max on Oct. 26, 2025, and serves as a prequel to the 2017 and 2019 films.