Intent on building upon what is arguably Stephen King’s definitive novel, It: Welcome to Derry arrives with expansionary ambition. Positioned as a prequel to Andy Muschietti’s recent film duology, the series fits neatly into HBO’s modern mandate under Warner Bros. Discovery to play the franchise game. This context doesn’t automatically make it a drag. So far, the prestige-TV standard-bearer has a decent track record of eking creative life out of similar endeavors: Peacemaker may have ended up marooned in its service to the James Gunn DC-verse , but HBO still pulled off The Penguin , a spinoff set within the Matt Reeves capsule Batman franchise that stood splendidly on its own. And it’s not like great stories can’t emerge from scraps of lore. Rogue One sprung up from a throwaw
‘It: Welcome to Derry’ Gets Lost in the Franchise Sewers

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