Don't Miss One Iconic Stephen King Movie Prior to It: Welcome to Derry's Upcoming Installment

HBO's It: Welcome to Derry contains numerous references to Stephen King's extensive library of stories. Apart from the clear links to It, the series showcases a direct link to The Shining via the cameo of a young future chef of the Overlook Hotel. Currently, as the story unfolds, It: Welcome to Derry is integrating another classic King story which merits a revisit.

The Powerful Story of The Shawshank Redemption

Although Shawshank Redemption isn't typically considered horror, especially compared to a lot of King's other writing, it remains a gripping tale about an wrongfully convicted man sentenced to live his remaining years inside a notorious prison. And it's that very penitentiary which is important here, since Shawshank State Prison possesses significant history throughout King's stories — a tradition which persists within It: Welcome to Derry.

Some of the tales that reference Shawshank include Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, Apt Pupil, 11/22/63, and It. Through these narratives, we discover regarding the terrible life inside Shawshank State Prison and several of the inmates within, including the boyfriend of one of Pennywise's early victims, who had been found guilty of armed robbery.

So far, however, the majority we have discovered concerning Shawshank has been via the perspective of Andy Dufresne from Shawshank Redemption, played by the actor Tim Robbins in that 1994 film. Andy winds up at the prison following being wrongly convicted, then finds himself assaulted and raped by other prisoners, and exploited by the authority figures for his expertise in finance. He requires him 28 years to tunnel an escape route of the prison, prior to making his way "through sewage" to reclaim his liberty.

Shawshank's Appearance in It: Welcome to Derry

In relation to the series, audiences initially discovered of Shawshank's involvement from an early trailer for the series, in which a prison bus was seen with the name displayed on its side. In episode 2, it is revealed who is likely destined for the prison.

Though we know he did not commit the child deaths initially, the character Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider), father of Ronnie (Amanda Christine), is arrested for the crimes. The preview for episode 3, "Now You See It," shows a guard telling Hank in his cell, "Are you aware what happens to child murderers at that prison?"

The Consequences for Hank and Ronnie

Given that the real killer in the town is an ancient power from another world preying on and murdering kids, Hank's chances of proving his innocence do not look good. Even should he ends up to Shawshank and viewers don't follow him there, knowing what is known about that prison indicates that his experience would not be pleasant.

More importantly, though, this situation could threaten his daughter. He acts as her guardian. Terrible events are occurring in the town which no one, child or adult, comprehends and she just has her recently formed circle of pals to rely on. She's going to need her dad in the coming episodes, but if the prison system plays a role, she may be without help.

One thing seems clear: Hank doesn’t have 28 years to tunnel his way out.

It: Welcome to Derry the first two episodes are streaming now on HBO Max. New episodes are released each week each Sunday.