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It: Welcome to Derry Star Explains Character Death & Pennywise

2025-11-24 04:46
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It: Welcome to Derry Star Explains Character Death & Pennywise

It: Welcome to Derry actor reveals the touching reason why he didn't want his character to meet his demise at the hands of Pennywise.

It: Welcome to Derry Star Explains Death & Heartfelt Reason He Didn’t Want Pennywise to Kill Him Pennywise in It: Welcome to Derry 4 By  Jennifer Chu Published 32 minutes ago Jennifer is a TV News Editor at ScreenRant. She started her journey in entertainment media in 2022 when she first joined Valnet at CBR before coming to ScreenRant. Jennifer loves TV, especially science fiction. She also loves late-night talk shows, due to her insomnia. Alien: Earth is definitely one of her favorite shows, and she jumps on any chance she gets to write about it. Even on her days off, she will claim an Alien Earth article if one is available.  Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon are two of her favorite late-night hosts, and Conan O'Brien before he left his show. Her Alien: Earth coverage for Screen Rant is by far the work that she is most proud of so far. She began her career as an editor in 2014. She was initially a finance editor, but her passion for pop culture convinced her to transition into entertainment journalism. During her off time, she loves to binge-watch cooking shows such as Kitchen Nightmares. Jennifer also loves spending time with her daughter and cherishes every moment of it. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

Warning: The following contains spoilers for It: Welcome to Derry season 1, episode 5.It: Welcome to Derry has been a bloodbath so far, with many gruesome deaths. However, the most recent one wasn’t at the hands of Pennywise.

In this week's It: Welcome to Derry episode, Pauly (Rudy Mancuso) sacrifices himself to save his friend Leroy's (Jovan Adepo) son. After Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise revealed himself, he put Leroy under a trance. He was about to shoot his own child until Pauly intervened, getting himself killed in the process.

In an interview with Us Weekly, Mancuso explained why he was grateful that he did not get murdered by the bloodthirsty clown and got a more "very grounded" death instead. The actor revealed that he didn't want a horror movie-like death because he didn't want his mother to watch him die in such a gruesome way, even though it would only be fictional. So, he was relieved that his character died a hero instead of getting brutally murdered by an evil clown.

I didn’t have a dream Pennywise murder scenario because my mom would really suffer a lot when seeing that on screen. So a grounded death is better than a fantastical death. I’m thinking about my mom here, and I don’t wish that upon any of my characters for the sake of my mom’s viewing.

The actor further elaborated that, beyond not wanting his mom to see her child get murdered in a horrifying way, he felt honored that Pauly died in a way that most people in It: Welcome to Derry don't. He stated that he was grateful for how his character went out in a more "nuanced" way than the rest.

We see a lot of Pennywise deaths, which are a lot of gruesome and monster-esque supernatural character deaths and attacks. What we don’t get to see very often is a very grounded sacrifice made from a character. It’s happening in real life — within the context of the show. So it was nice to get a more humanized sacrificial death vs. a big supernatural one. I’m overall thankful that I got to participate in a more nuanced version of a death.

Mancuso also said that he was so happy that he was able to be there for the debut of Skarsgård’s Pennywise. He added that he actually got to spend time with the actor outside the show. He explained that he thought it was "really cool" to hang out with someone and then have them haunt him on set afterwards.

I got to spend time with Bill outside of the shoot various times. He’s incredibly sweet, funny and generous. Then to see him in that full costume that haunted me for two films was really cool.

It: Welcome to Derry releases new episodes every Sunday at 9:00 PM ET and 6:00 PM PT on HBO.

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It: Welcome to Derry

10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-MA Horror Mystery Drama Release Date October 26, 2025 Network HBO Directors Andy Muschietti Writers Jason Fuchs, Stephen King, Austin Guzman Franchise(s) IT Dick Hallorann with his eyes wide looking angry in It Welcome to Derry 8 Images Dick Hallorann with his eyes wide looking angry in It Welcome to DerryDick Hallorann with his eyes wide looking angry in It Welcome to DerryJack Molloy Legault and Mikkal Karrim-Fidler walking through a school hallway in IT_ Welcome to Derry season 1Bill Skarsgard's Pennywise in IT Welcome to Derry trailer 2Bill Skarsgard's Pennywise in IT Welcome to Derry trailer 2Image courtesy of HBO MaxKid similing in IT Welcome To DerryKid similing in IT Welcome To DerryTaylour Paige as Charlotte Hanlon in IT: Welcome to DerryPennywise holds up a red balloon in the sewers from It Welcome to Derry trailerIt: Welcome to Derry teens looking surprised at something off screenIt: Welcome to Derry teens looking surprised at something off screenUpcoming Stephen King Show Will Prove 1 Dark Truth About His Iconic MonsterClose

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  • Headshot Of Taylour Paige In The 2013 Do Something Awards Taylour Paige Charlotte Hanlon
  • Headshot Of Jovan Adepo Jovan Adepo Leroy Hanlon

Genres Horror, Mystery, Drama Creator(s) Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, Jason Fuchs Powered by ScreenRant logo Expand Collapse Follow Followed Like Share Facebook X WhatsApp Threads Bluesky LinkedIn Reddit Flipboard Copy link Email Close Thread Sign in to your ScreenRant account

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