IT: Welcome to Derry: All the Stephen King Easter eggs so far
As any dedicated Stephen King fan will know, the horror master's body of work is peppered with sneaky connections and recurring characters.
Unsurprisingly, HBO Max's new IT prequel, IT: Welcome to Derry, is no exception. We already know from the trailer that Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) is making a reappearance, and we know that the show is largely based on certain historical interlude chapters from the book — but now, as the show progresses, we have a sense of just how much it's also dialled in to King's multiverse.
We've broken down the Easter eggs we found so far, below.
Major Hanlon
As well as introducing the town of Derry and some local Derry High schoolers, a key character in episode 1 is new resident Major Hanlon (Jovan Adepo). The name is clearly no accident. In King's novel, and in the movies, Mike Hanlon is a member of the Losers' Club. He's the only character who remains in Derry after the kids defeat IT the first time around, opting to stay back in the town and write a kind of diary/history of the local area.
Given that executive producer Andy Muscietti has confirmed that IT: Welcome to Derry is based on Hanlon's interludes in the novel, it seems only right that one of his relations should be a core character in the show.
The question is, how is Major Hanlon related to Mike Hanlon? The show hasn't made this explicit yet, but it's worth noting that — based on the fact the show takes place in 1962, and the first movie takes place in the late 1980s — Major Hanlon is the right age to be Mike's grandfather.
Teddy
It appears that Major Hanlon may not be the only familiar name in IT: Welcome to Derry. In the end credits of episode 1 (after that shocking episode ending) we see Rabbi Uris, Don Uris, and Mrs. Uris all listed, and Teddy (Mikkal Karim-Fidler) — although we don't explicitly hear his surname — has the words "Teddy Urine" scrawled on his locker at school. Is this family related to Stanley Uris (Wyatt Oleff/Andy Bean), a member of the Losers' Club in the book/movies? It seems likely.
The Paul Bunyan statue
Despite protests from residents, Derry is in the process of trying to erect a statue of Paul Bunyan in episode 1. There are billboards for it around town, and an article about it in a local paper.
This is the same statue that has been constructed by the time the cycle depicted in the book/movies has rolled round, and which famously comes to life to chase Richie Tozier (Finn Wolfhard/Bill Hader).
The graffiti in the Derry High School toilet
When Margie (Matilda Lawler) drags Lilly (Clara Stack) into the Derry High School toilets for a private chat in episode 1, there's some graffiti on the door that will ring a bell with King fans: The name "Alvin Marsh", scrawled inside a love heart.
Alvin Marsh (Stephen Bogaert) will grow up to become the horrible and abusive father of Beverly Marsh (Sophia Lillis/Jessica Chastain), a core member of the Losers' club in the books and movies.
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The turtle
Without going too much into spoiler territory, turtles play a big part not only in IT, but also in King's larger multiverse (hello, Dark Tower fans). So it's only fitting that turtles feature heavily in episode 1 of IT: Welcome to Derry too, from a sign outside Derry High School that reads "BERT THE TURTLE SAYS: DUCK AND COVER" to the school's turtle mascot handing out flyers warning students about the Cold War nuclear threat.
That's not all, either. When Matty (Miles Ekhardt) takes Lilly to the abandoned tower where some of the boys have a base, they trade Cracker Jack cereal toys, with Matty giving Lilly his turtle in exchange for a rocket ship.
Her response? "Turtles are lucky."
Dick Hallorann
We may know him best from The Shining, but Dick Hallorann (Chris Chalk) — the Overlook Hotel's psychic chef who helps Danny Torrance — is also playing a big supporting role in IT: Welcome to Derry. This isn't as random as it first seems, with the character also appearing in Stephen King's IT novel in one of Mike Hanlon's historical Derry chapters, upon which the series is based.
Juniper Hill Asylum
Juniper Hill Asylum — the place where poor Lilly Bainbridge (Clara Stack) is sent by her mother in episode 2 — is a regular feature in King's novels, popping up in a number of different novels including IT and 11/22/63. The institution also appears in IT: Welcome to Derry's clue-filled opening credits.
Shawshank State Prison
This is another fictional Maine location that pops up all the time King's books, most famously his 1982 novella Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, which was adapted into Frank Darabont's Oscar-nominated 1994 film. In IT: Welcome to Derry episode 3, the prison gets a name check in in the form of a transport bus with "Shawshank State Prison" written on the side — but we don't yet know if we'll see inside the prison or this is just another passing Easter egg.
