Film · in order
IT Movies in Order
Four screen tellings across two continuities: the 2017 and 2019 films plus the Welcome to Derry prequel series form the current one, and the 1990 miniseries stands alone as its own complete adaptation. All of it grows from a single Stephen King novel.
IT Movies in Order: complete list
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Why this order?
IT has been adapted twice, and the two adaptations do not mix - which is the only real order rule this franchise has.
The current continuity is the film pair plus its prequel series. IT (2017) covers the Losers Club as kids in late-80s Derry; IT Chapter Two (2019) returns them as adults twenty-seven years later. Together they adapt the novel's two timelines as two films, and they are one story: Chapter Two assumes every beat of the first. IT: Welcome to Derry, the HBO series, is a prequel set in 1962, produced by the films' creative team with Bill Skarsgard returning as Pennywise. Its first season ran eight episodes from October 2025, and a second season - moving further back, to 1935, following the massacre of the Bradley Gang - was confirmed in August 2026. The series is built for viewers who know the films, seeding Derry's history around them.
The 1990 miniseries is the other continuity: the two-part ABC production with Tim Curry's Pennywise, a complete telling on its own. It shares the novel, not the films' canon. Watch it as a classic or skip it; nothing in the modern continuity references it.
So: films first, in order, then Welcome to Derry. The miniseries whenever, or never. And beneath everything, King's 1986 novel - eleven hundred pages the adaptations each compress differently, and the only version with the full cosmology.
Order note for the prequel-minded: Welcome to Derry is set earliest but watches best after the films, exactly like most prequels built on recognition.
Timeline 1990-2025
Every entry by release year: rows that share a year are a cluster, and the long droughts are called out on the rail.
- 1990 IT
- 27-year gap
- 2017 IT
- 2019 IT Chapter Two
- 6-year gap
- 2025 IT: Welcome to Derry
Where to play it today
- Welcome to Derry streams on HBO Max, alongside both films in most regions
- The 1990 miniseries rotates through streamers and rental
- Availability rotates; check JustWatch for your region
Availability changes often and varies by region - links search each platform for IT.
Frequently asked questions
How many IT movies and series are there?
Four screen versions: IT (2017) and IT Chapter Two (2019), the prequel series IT: Welcome to Derry (2025, ongoing), and the 1990 ABC miniseries with Tim Curry, which is a separate adaptation. All adapt or extend Stephen King's 1986 novel.
What order should I watch IT in?
IT (2017), IT Chapter Two (2019), then Welcome to Derry. The prequel series is set decades earlier but built on recognizing the films. The 1990 miniseries is its own complete continuity - watch it whenever, or not at all.
Is Welcome to Derry a prequel, and should I watch it first?
It is a prequel - season one is set in 1962, and the confirmed second season moves to 1935 - but it watches best after the films: it is made by the same creative team for an audience that knows them, seeding Derry's history and Pennywise's pattern around the story you have seen. Setting order is for rewatches.
Is Welcome to Derry getting a season 2?
Yes - HBO confirmed a second season in August 2026, set during the Depression in 1935 around the massacre of the Bradley Gang. It has no premiere date yet, and with production not started, nothing before late 2027 is realistic.
Do the 2017 films connect to the 1990 miniseries?
No. The miniseries is a complete, separate adaptation of the same novel, famous for Tim Curry's Pennywise. The films restart from the book with their own cast, timeline and canon, and Welcome to Derry extends the films only.
Do I need to read the book?
No - both adaptations stand alone. The 1986 novel is the fullest version by far, with a cosmology around IT's origins that no adaptation carries whole, so it rewards fans who want more. It is also eleven hundred pages, so it is a commitment, not homework.
Why is IT split into two movies?
The novel runs two interleaved timelines - the Losers as children and as adults twenty-seven years on. The films unbraid them: 2017 takes the childhood, Chapter Two the return. The miniseries kept the interleaving instead, which is the biggest structural difference between the two adaptations.
How long does it take to watch everything IT?
The two films run just over 5 hours, Welcome to Derry's first season adds roughly 8 more, and the 1990 miniseries is about 3. The whole screen catalog is a comfortable 16 hours.
Last verified · Sources: en.wikipedia.org, variety.com
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