There is a new Losers Club in It – Welcome to Derry, the prequel series to Andy Muschietti’s 2017 adaptation of Stephen King’s 1986 novel, It. Set in 1962 Derry, the series, developed by Muschietti, tells of missing children and an Air Force base on the hunt for a secret. A group of children — Will, Lilly, Ronnie, Marge and Rich — decide to investigate.
Talking about her character, Amanda Christine says over a video call, “I play Ronnie Grogan, who has to deal with racial discrimination.” With the evil entity, Pennywise preying on fear, Amanda says, “Ronnie’s fear and guilt stem from her mother dying at childbirth and her father bringing her up as a single parent. There are also financial worries for Ronnie and the fear of losing her father after she lost her mom.”
Matilda Lawler, who plays Marge, says, “My character fears herself the most. She’s not comfortable in her skin. She is trying to figure out who she is and is insecure about her big, Mr. Magoo glasses that magnify her eyes — something she’s been made fun of, and It decides to prey on that insecurity.”
Grief and loss
Clara Stack plays Lilly, who is grieving the loss of her father in an accident. “She carries a lot of guilt and feels it is her fault that she gets bullied. For the intense scenes, it was important to dig into our characters and find the vulnerable places to show true emotion.”
Pennywise has been Blake James’ (who plays Will) biggest fear. “I remember my brother showed me a video of him and I started crying. I was younger,” he hastens to add. “I was genuinely, deathly afraid. Acting in the show was coming full circle and surreal. It was a face-your-fears type thing, because I got to see Pennywise IRL and conquer my fear.”
Arian S. Cartaya who plays Rich in the show, says, “The sewers definitely gave me goosebumps, and the scenes in the cemetery, when things just pop out of nowhere, were scary.”
Green screen scares
Clara Stack and Amanda Christine in ‘It – Welcome to Derry’
| Photo Credit:
Brooke Palmer/HBO
When working with a green screen, Amanda says, she used her imagination to build her character’s response. “I don’t have a father in my life, and I used that feeling to show Ronnie coping with not having a mom.” There were objects and people in the scene to help, Amanda adds. “In Episode 1, there was a prop for the scary baby head, which was helpful. There were also times when we had to act scared alongside a piece of tape or a tennis ball.”
Though a lot of the scary scenes were in the cemetery, Arian says, “The only time we took those scenes seriously was when we were on the set and ready to film. Behind the scenes, we were just goofing off and running all over the place.”
“The more serious the scene, and atmosphere, the more we were likely to be goofing off,” Blake says. “If it was a Pennywise scene or a river scene, however, it was more serious as everybody could feel that energy.”
With Pennywise (played by Bill Skarsgård) not available for some scenes, Arian says they used a stunt double. “With full costume and makeup, it was actually scary.”
Recalling a scene he shot in the cemetery, Blake says, “This thing was supposed to be running by in the background. It was a person in a full green screen suit and was pretty funny.”
The shoot was traumatic and scary, in a fun way, Clara says. “Sometimes, there were these grown men wearing blue-green screen suits, and they looked so funny. How do you scream and not laugh at that?”
Unbreakable bond
Clara Stack and Matilda Lawler in ‘It – Welcome to Derry’.
| Photo Credit:
Brooke Palmer/HBO
Friendship, Amanda says is big in It- Welcome to Derry. “It shows all the things we can fight against and also those that we can’t control. Clara chimes in: “Friendship, bonding, being brave together and conquering your fears as a group, is special in this series.”
Stephen King is a powerful author because he touches upon fears one does not talk about, says Matilda. “In Derry, the adults have this fog where they don’t address the terrifying things that are going on. It’s empowering to see these kids come together and fight against this evil entity as a team and as friends.” Blake says, “You get to see a lot of the power of friendship in the last episode.”
Friends are important to defeat Pennywise, Arian says. “Bill Skarsgård is one of the kindest, nicest people you’ll ever meet, but as Pennywise, he’s terrifying.”
It – Welcome to Derry is currently streaming on Jio Hotstar with weekly episodes dropping until December 14
Published – November 04, 2025 12:43 pm IST
