IT Universe Watch Order: The Complete Guide & the Two Separate Continuities Decoded
📅 August 10, 2026 · ⏱ 9 min read · 🎈 4 Adaptations, 2 Separate Universes
Start Reading 1990 vs 2017 — DecodedStephen King’s IT has now been adapted four separate times, and the single most common confusion going in is treating the 1990 miniseries as the “first chapter” of the same story the 2017 films continue. It isn’t — they’re entirely separate, unconnected adaptations of the same book, set in different decades, with no shared continuity whatsoever.
This guide untangles all of it. You get a clean recommended order for each continuity, a full decoder on why the 1990 and 2017 versions can’t be watched as one connected story, and up-to-date coverage of IT: Welcome to Derry — the HBO prequel series that premiered in October 2025 and is quietly doing something no other IT adaptation has done before.
For the modern connected story: IT: Welcome to Derry (Season 1) → IT (2017) → IT Chapter Two. The 1990 miniseries is a completely separate, standalone adaptation — watch it independently whenever you like, not as a prequel to anything from 2017 onward.
The Recommended Watch Order (Full)
Because both continuities are independent, this section covers each one separately — then explains how to combine them if you want to watch everything ever made.
The Modern Muschietti Continuity (The Connected Story)
Set in 1962, following Leroy Hanlon — grandfather of Mike Hanlon, the Losers Club member who stays behind in Derry — as he and his family arrive in town and encounter a darkness the community refuses to acknowledge. The first screen adaptation to explore one of Pennywise’s cycles before the Losers’ Club exists. Watch this first for the cleanest timeline, or after the 2017 films if you’d rather start with the Losers.
Seven misfit kids in 1989 form the Losers Club and discover that a shapeshifting entity feeding on childhood fear has haunted Derry for centuries — taking the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown. A global hit that grossed over $700 million worldwide on a $35 million budget.
The Losers, now adults scattered across the country, are called back to Derry when Pennywise resurfaces 27 years later. Intercuts heavily between the present-day confrontation and flashbacks to events the first film didn’t show. Concludes the modern film saga.
The 1990 Miniseries (Separate, Standalone)
The original TV adaptation, covering both the children’s story (set in the 1960s) and the adult return (set in 1990) in one two-part broadcast. Tim Curry’s Pennywise became one of horror’s most iconic performances and still holds a devoted following. Watch this entirely separately from the modern films — it shares no continuity with them, no timeline, and no character connections beyond what the source novel established.
The Two Separate Continuities — Decoded
This is the single thing that confuses the IT franchise’s watch order more than anything else, and almost no guide explains it clearly as a standalone section: the 1990 miniseries and the 2017 film are both adapting the same Stephen King novel, but they are not connected to each other in any way.
| Question | IT (1990) | IT (2017) + Chapter Two + Welcome to Derry |
|---|---|---|
| Same source material? | ✅ Stephen King’s novel | ✅ Stephen King’s novel |
| Same continuity? | ❌ No — completely separate | ✅ Yes — all three connect |
| Children’s story set when? | 1960 (the miniseries’ present was 1990) | 1989 (Chapter Two’s present is 2016) |
| Does Welcome to Derry prequel it? | ❌ No — only prequels the 2017 film | ✅ Yes — set in 1962, before the 2017 film |
| Is Pennywise played by the same actor? | Tim Curry | Bill Skarsgård (all three) |
What Makes Welcome to Derry Different
IT: Welcome to Derry isn’t just another retelling of the same Losers Club story. It’s doing something genuinely new in the franchise — and understanding what makes it worth talking about before you start.
It Works Backward Through Time
Each season of Welcome to Derry is planned to push further back into Derry’s history. Season 1 is set in 1962. Season 2 has been confirmed and moves back to 1935, centring on the Bradley Gang massacre. A planned Season 3 would go back as far as 1908.
New Characters, Familiar Location
Season 1 follows Mike Hanlon’s grandparents, the Hanlons, as they move to Derry — people who predate the Losers Club by decades. The show explores cycles of Pennywise’s feeding that happened long before the 1989 events of IT (2017).
Season 2 Is Confirmed
HBO has renewed Welcome to Derry for a second season, set in 1935 during the Great Depression. The Bradley Gang massacre, a piece of Derry lore referenced but never shown in previous adaptations, will be the centrepiece.
Bill Skarsgård Returns
Skarsgård reprises Pennywise across all seasons of Welcome to Derry, maintaining continuity with the 2017 films even as the show moves further into the past.
Quick Reference Table: Every Entry in the Franchise
| Title | Type | Year | Continuity | Essential? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IT (1990) | TV Miniseries (2 eps) | 1990 | Standalone | Optional, Standalone Classic |
| IT: Welcome to Derry S1 | TV Series (8 eps) | 2025 | Modern (1962) | Watch First |
| IT (2017) | Film | 2017 | Modern (1989) | Must Watch |
| IT Chapter Two | Film | 2019 | Modern (2016) | Series Finale |
| IT: Welcome to Derry S2 | TV Series (TBA) | 2027 (est.) | Modern (1935) | Confirmed, Upcoming |
Frequently Asked Questions
Final Verdict: What’s the Best Way to Watch IT?
For most viewers: treat it as two completely separate experiences. The modern Muschietti continuity is a three-part story (Welcome to Derry → IT 2017 → Chapter Two) that works best watched in that chronological order. The 1990 miniseries is its own self-contained classic that exists entirely outside that timeline.
The biggest mistake first-time viewers make is treating the 1990 Tim Curry version as “the prequel” or “the first half” of the same story the 2017 films continue. It isn’t — and approaching it that way means walking into the modern films with incorrect expectations about character backgrounds and timeline.
And Welcome to Derry is doing something none of the other adaptations have attempted: instead of telling the same Losers Club story again, it’s working backward through Derry’s history cycle by cycle, with each season moving further into the past. That structural choice makes it worth watching even if you already know every beat of the 2017 films by heart.
Ready to Start Watching?
Bookmark this page — we’ll update it the moment IT: Welcome to Derry Season 2 gets a release date. And if this guide helped, check out our other watch order guides below.
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