Why is It: Welcome to Derry going backwards in time? Sinister Pennywise theory explained

Andy Muschietti has a three-season plan for It: Welcome to Derry, with each chapter set to go further back in time. And a theory explains the reasoning for this, suggesting Pennywise may not be the same creature we meet in the movies.

The horror TV show is gearing up for its most anticipated chapter yet with the penultimate Episode 7, ‘The Black Spot’, set to show the Black Spot massacre and the true Pennywise the Dancing Clown. 

If a second season is given the greenlight by HBO, Muschietti has a plan in place. As he previously told Variety, “Our big story arc involves three seasons, mainly based on the three critical cycles of Pennywise, which are 1962, 1935 and 1908.”

Thanks to the events of the first season of the show and the previous IT movies, a theory has emerged that reveals why this may be the case – and how Pennywise could get even more terrifying the further back we go. 

Theory explains why It: Welcome to Derry will go backwards in time

HBO

Taking to Reddit, a fan of the new TV show wrote, “At first I didn’t understand why the three seasons would go backwards time wise but I understand it now. What I believe Muschietti is doing is showing Pennywise getting stronger and stronger as the seasons progress. 

“Usually characters get stronger as they age and gain experience, but since IT is just a cosmic being, IT is as old as time itself. 

“Through encounters with Dick Hallorann, the Natives, The Losers, Maturin, and I guess now these magical pillars/shards/daggers, IT becomes weaker and weaker.

“As seasons of a show progress, SOME part of the show has to progress too. And since it’s not time so we won’t see recurring characters getting older, it would make sense if IT got stronger with less competition as it has currently.”

They finished by writing, “All in all, I would love to see one season where the characters are simply hopeless and clueless and show a true IT feeding cycle where it was unstoppable.”

While this theory isn’t stated outright in Stephen King’s novel, it does align with the book’s broader mythology. In the source material, Pennywise is at full strength in earlier cycles, long before its eventual confrontations with the Losers’ Club. 

The further back you go, the fewer “checks” there are on IT – fewer psychics, fewer people with the Shine, no Maturin interference, and no magical artifacts to weaken it.

This actually explains a long-standing quirk: IT appears weaker in the modern-day movies because by the 1980s, it has already endured centuries of resistance. 

If Welcome to Derry continues moving backward – into 1935, then 1908 – we may end up seeing a version of Pennywise far closer to the unrestrained, cosmic predator King originally envisioned. 

Pennywise was stronger in earlier cycles 

HBO

Fans of Welcome to Derry certainly agree, especially after the Children of Maturin noted how the latest IT cycle isn’t as strong as the previous ones. 

“The Children of Maturin said that this cycle is milder compared to the last two. So yes, I agree,” said one. 

“Season 3 will probably be Pennywise at his most evil, the Ironworks explosion was a BIG deal, and I can see that season building up a lot of players that move into that scene, only for us to be devastated at the absolute destruction.

“Pennywise was definitely at his weakest when fighting the Losers, because he’s kinda insane in this show.”

HBO

A second replied, “I remember a line earlier this season from the Natives that said this cycle was more tame than the previous two… so it makes sense I think.” 

“I think he’d be the guy to do it properly. But I’m only worried about watching a show about IT with no clown. Who knows how much is left to flush out after this season from the Bob Gray/Pennywise origin,” wrote another. 

“But IT without Pennywise is just odd to me. That being said, if it can be done well, think Muschietti is the guy to pull it off.”

However, a fourth pointed out, “We will have Pennywise the clown in each season. Season 2 is in 1935 and season 3 in 1908 and 1908 is the era with Bob Gray the dancing clown where IT is stealing his identity.”

Until we find out more, It: Welcome to Derry Episode 7 drops on HBO on Sunday, December 7. You can also read about the Welcome to Derry scene that scared Stephen King the legend the most, if the show is a secret The Shining prequel, and our rundown of the best horror movies ever made.