Like any initiate Stephen King As a fan knows, the horror master's work is replete with clever connections and recurring characters.
No wonder, HBO Maxnew THIS prequel, IT: Welcome to Derryis no exception. We already know from trailer that Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) is showing up again and we know that The show is loosely based on some of the historical chapters from the book. – but now, after one episode, we have a sense of how connected it will be to King's multiverse.
We've broken down the Easter eggs we found in the first episode below.
Major Hanlon
As well as introducing us to some of Derry's local high school students, a key character in the first episode is the town's new resident, Major Hanlon (Jovan Adepo). The name is clearly not accidental. IN King's noveland in the movies, Mike Hanlon is a member of the Losers' Club. He is the only character who remains in Derry after the children first defeat IT, deciding to stay in the city and write some sort of diary/history of the area.
Given that executive producer Andy Muschietti confirmed What IT: Welcome to Derry based on Hanlon's interludes in the novel, it seems right for one of his relatives to become a major character in the series.
The question is, what does Major Hanlon have to do with Mike Hanlon? This has not yet been revealed in the series, but it is worth noting that given the fact that the series is set in 1962 and the first film takes place in the late 1980s, Major Hanlon is the right age to be Mike's grandfather.
Teddy
It looks like Major Hanlon may not be the only familiar name in Episode 1. In the end credits, we see that Rabbi Uris, Don Uris and Mrs. Uris are listed, and Teddy (Mikkal Karim Fidler) – although we don't hear his last name explicitly – has the words “Teddy Piss” scrawled on his school locker. Is this family related to Stanley Uris (Wyatt Oleff/Andy Bean), a member of the Losers' Club in the book/movies? This seems likely.
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Paul Bunyan statue
Despite protests from residents, Derry attempts to erect a statue of Paul Bunyan in episode 1. There are billboards all over town and the local newspaper has an article about it.
This is the same statue that was built towards the end of the series depicted in the book/movies and is known to come to life to haunt Richie Tozier (Finn Wolfhard/Bill Hader).
Graffiti in the school toilet
When Margie (Matilda Lawler) drags Lilly (Clara Stack) into the school bathroom for a private chat, graffiti appears on the door that will alarm King fans: the name “Alvin Marsh” scrawled inside a love heart.
Alvin Marsh (Stephen Bogert) will grow up to be the terrible and abusive father of Beverly Marsh (Sophia Lillis/Jessica Chastain), a key member of the Losers' Club in the books and films.
Turtle
Without going into details, I will say that turtles play a big role not only in THISbut also in the big King multiverse (hello, Dark Tower fans). So it's only fitting that the turtles feature heavily in the first episode of the series. IT: Welcome to Derry also, from a sign outside Derry High School that reads “BERT, TURTLE SAYS DUCK AND COVER,” to the school's turtle mascot handing out leaflets warning students about the nuclear threat of the Cold War.
That's not all. When Matty (Miles Eckhardt) takes Lilly to an abandoned tower where some boys have a base, they trade Cracker Jack cereal toys and Matty gives Lilly his turtle in exchange for a rocket ship.
Her answer? “The turtles are lucky.”
