Getting To Work With Stephen King Led To 'An Ace' Up The IT: Welcome To Derry Creators' 'Sleeves,' And It All Had To Do With Bob Gray

Spoilers below for everything we’ve seen so far in IT: Welcome to Derry Season 1, so be warned if you haven’t been watching on HBO or streaming via HBO Max subscription .

The back half of IT: Welcome to Derry ’s first season has changed up audiences’ previous understanding of Stephen King ’s Clown Prince of Evil, while adding further context to the two big-screen features from Andy Muschietti . Bill Skarsgård’s return to Derry wasn’t just about reprising the role of Pennywise, as he also brought the long-mysterious entity “Bob Gray” to life for the first time in Episode 7, expanding IT’s origin story to the point when Pennywise first entered the picture. (Not that there aren’t still questions.)

Bringing such massive changes to this iconic and beloved narrative unive