‘IT: Welcome to Derry’: All of the Stephen King Easter eggs in episode 1

As any devoted Stephen King fan will know, the horror grasp’s physique of labor is peppered with sneaky connections and recurring characters.

Unsurprisingly, HBO Max’s new IT prequel, IT: Welcome to Derry, is not any exception. We already know from the trailer that Pennywise (Invoice Skarsgård) is making a reappearance, and we all know that the present is essentially based mostly on sure historic interlude chapters from the guide — however now, one episode in, we’ve a way of simply how a lot it’s going to even be dialled in to King’s multiverse.

We have damaged down the Easter eggs we discovered within the first episode beneath.

Main Hanlon

In addition to introducing some native Derry Excessive schoolers, a key character in episode one is new city resident Main Hanlon (Jovan Adepo). The identify is clearly no accident. In King’s novel, and within the films, Mike Hanlon is a member of the Losers’ Membership. He is the one character who stays in Derry after the children defeat IT the primary time round, opting to remain again within the city and write a form of diary/historical past of the native space.

On condition that govt producer Andy Muscietti has confirmed that IT: Welcome to Derry relies on Hanlon’s interludes within the novel, it appears solely proper that one among his relations ought to be a core character within the present.

The query is, how is Main Hanlon associated to Mike Hanlon? The present hasn’t made this specific but, but it surely’s price noting that — based mostly on the actual fact the present takes place in 1962, and the primary film takes place within the late Nineteen Eighties — Main Hanlon is the best age to be Mike’s grandfather.

The Paul Bunyan statue

Regardless of protests from residents, Derry is within the technique of attempting to erect a statue of Paul Bunyan in episode 1. There are billboards for it round city, and an article about it in an area paper.

This is similar statue that has been constructed by the point the cycle depicted within the guide/films has rolled spherical, and which famously involves life to chase Richie Tozier (Finn Wolfhard/Invoice Hader).

The graffiti within the college rest room

When Margie (Matilda Lawler) drags Lilly (Clara Stack) into the college bathrooms for a non-public chat, there’s some graffiti on the door that can ring a bell with King followers: The identify “Alvin Marsh”, scrawled inside a love coronary heart.

Alvin Marsh (Stephen Bogaert) will develop as much as turn out to be the horrible and abusive father of Beverly Marsh (Sophia Lillis/Jessica Chastain), a core member of the Losers’ membership within the books and flicks.

The turtle

With out going an excessive amount of into spoiler territory, turtles play an enormous half not solely in IT, but in addition in King’s bigger multiverse (whats up, Darkish Tower followers). So it is solely becoming that turtles function closely in episode 1 of IT: Welcome to Derry too, from an indication exterior Derry Excessive Faculty that reads “BERT THE TURTLE SAYS: DUCK AND COVER” to the college’s turtle mascot handing out flyers warning college students in regards to the Chilly Struggle nuclear risk.

That is not all, both. When Matty (Miles Ekhardt) takes Lilly to the deserted tower the place among the boys have a base, they commerce Cracker Jack cereal toys, with Matty giving Lilly his turtle in trade for a rocket ship.

Her response? “Turtles are fortunate.”

IT: Welcome to Derry debuts on Sunday, October 26 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO, and will likely be accessible to stream on HBO Max. New episodes air weekly.