The HBO prequel It: Welcome to Derry has the perfect opportunity to confirm a popular Stephen King fan theory. With close to 70 books and 200 short stories, the horror author is by far one of the most prolific writers of the past century. Good onscreen versions of his stories aren’t scarce, but Andy Muschietti’s duology, It and It: Chapter Two, is one of the best Stephen King movie adaptations. As such, the announcement of a prequel called It: Welcome to Derry received overwhelming excitement from fans.
The TV show boasts the return of Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise, a reprisal that is integral to its success, in my opinion. In addition to exploring more of IT’s history, the story will provide the shape-shifting alien with a whole new group of people to play with. If Welcome to Derry chooses to include one character from another Stephen King story, the show could confirm a popular theory about one of Pennywise’s other aliases.
Some Stephen King Fans Theorize George Elvid From Fair Extension Is Pennywise
George Elvid Has Many Traits Aligned With Pennywise
A popular theory that comes up when discussing Pennywise’s appearances outside of IT is the idea that George Elivd from the novella “Fair Extension,” which appears in the book Full Dark, No Stars is the shapeshifting alien. In “Fair Extension,” Dave Streeter, a man with terminal cancer, makes a Faustian bargain with a magical, centuries-old being named George Elvid, who lives in Derry. Besides being magical and centuries old, the novella provides more hints that he could be an alternate form of Pennywise. In multiple paragraphs, Dave describes George Elvid as having a ring of pointy, “cannibal” teeth in his mouth. He also changes his appearance a few times, which points to his shapeshifting abilities.
The mythical creature has knowledge about psychic powers, which Pennywise uses. George Elvid can stop traffic whenever he’s doing a deal, something that Pennywise could theoretically do since he has mental influence over those in Derry. On top of all those hints, Dave describes George Elvid’s appearance at one point as “the world’s least pleasant clown, with half his makeup removed.” Although IT is supposedly killed in the 80s (in the book) and the short story starts in 2001, it’s still possible that George Elvid is either the creature itself or a descendant.
Multiple Stephen King books reference Pennywise, and even more include hints that either It or It’s children are still alive. Prime examples include the “Pennywise Lives” graffiti and the villain called Mr. Gray, the name of one of It’s aliases, in Dreamcatcher. Even the IT book provides a few lines that hint that the shapeshifting monster might not actually be gone. However, fans will likely be left to speculate on the matter as it has never been confirmed or denied.
A Dave Streeter Cameo In HBO’s Welcome To Derry Could Confirm This Popular Theory
Dave Streeter Could Meet Up With Bill Skarsgård
Dave Streeter’s deal with George Elvid is just one of the many Stephen King book moments they could include in It: Welcome To Derry. Though it’s one of the most unnecessary options, it’s also one of the simplest at face value. They could show Dave Streeter making a deal with Bill Skarsgård, the actor who will return as Pennywise. Obviously, to maintain the accuracy of the short story, he couldn’t be in his Pennywise costume when interacting with Dave Streeter.
To pull off the deal, Dave Streeter has to give George Elvid 15% of his income and pᴀss his misery on to the person he hates the most. He could pᴀss his bad luck onto one of the characters in the HBO prequel show. Luckily, the Faustian bargain wouldn’t require much onscreen time to have its intended impact.
The Pennywise Alternate Idenтιтy Theory Would Fit With The IT movies
IT Takes On Multiple Personas Throughout It (2017) & It: Chapter Two (2019)
Any new characters or storylines used in HBO’s Welcome to Derry TV show need to fit with the timeline and lore of the IT movies because the show is a prequel of the Andy Muschietti duology rather than two separate enтιтies. Luckily, the idea that George Elvid could be an alternate idenтιтy of Pennywise fits within It (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019). The movies show that Pennywise has taken on multiple different human personas, including:
- Georgie Denbrough
- The librarian
- The parade clown
- The leper
- Judith
- Bob Gray
- Beverly
- Mrs. Kersch
Considering IT has become numerous other humans in the movies, it’s not unreasonable to think that George Elvid could be just another one of the human idenтιтies he takes on. Additionally, George Elvid’s appearance being described as “the world’s least pleasant clown” sounds similar to Beverly’s vision of Bob Gray in It: Chapter Two.
Why It Might Be Difficult For Welcome To Derry To Confirm This Theory
A Dave Streeter Cameo Might Not Fit In Welcome To Derry’s Central Story
Even if Andy Muschietti wanted to confirm the George Elvid Pennywise theory, it would be much more difficult than it seems. Firstly, they would have to attain the rights to the “Fair Extension” characters from Stephen King. According to filmmaker Mike Flanagan, King doesn’t like to give the same person rights to more than one property at a time, which almost lost Flanagan the rights to Life of Chuck. The author would have to make an exception, giving Andy Muschietti rights to both IT and Fair Extension. Additionally, this would mean he’d need to get on board with confirming that George Elvid is Pennywise.
On top of the rights issues, Welcome to Derry would have a difficult time including the story since Andy Muschietti already knows exactly what story he wants to tell. According to CBR, he has plotted out three seasons, with each season covering a different interlude in reverse chronological order.
Andy Muschietti would have to change the year that George Elvid makes a deal with Dave Streeter and adjust aspects of the story as well.
For those who aren’t familiar with the IT book, the interludes discuss the catastrophic events that take place when Pennywise wakes up from hibernation. Based on Muschietti’s statements, It: Welcome to Derry season 1 takes place in 1962 and should follow the Black Spot fire. The second season will take place in 1935 and should follow the mᴀssacre of the Bradley Gang. The final season will take place in 1908 and should follow the Kitchener Ironworks explosion.
To confirm the theory, Andy Muschietti would have to change the year that George Elvid makes a deal with Dave Streeter and adjust aspects of the story as well. On top of this, he would need to find a way to fit the cameo into one of the interludes, all of which mark the start of a Pennywise cycle. They can’t make the deal before the big tragedy, since Pennywise is asleep at that time. However, it might be too distracting from the central plot to have the deal occur afterward.
The creative team might view a Dave Streeter cameo as too distracting. Ultimately, if they really wanted to include a Stephen King character cameo, it seems more likely that they would show Jake Epping in It: Welcome to Derry season 1. This could happen with very minimal changes and wouldn’t be distracting, unlike the Dave Streeter cameo.
