IT: Welcome to Derry star Aryan S. Cartaya confirmed the origin story behind the name of an important character from the IT movies, who has ties to Marge Truman. The HBO Max prequel series' phenomenal Season 1 finale pulled back the curtain on some of the secrets behind Pennywise, the Losers' Club, and a last-minute twist involving Beverly Marsh from the films.
Given that the series is set in 1962 (which is 27 years before the events of the first movie), it was only a matter of time before Welcome to Derry laid out connections to key Losers' Club members, starting with Will Hanlon, who is confirmed to be Mike Hanlon's father. Meanwhile, speculation became rampant about Marge's ties to another Losers' Club member, Richie Tozier, mainly due to her similar traits to the character and the sacrifice that her best friend, Rich, made that ultimately saved her during the Burning of the Back Spot. And now, the finale has confirmed what fans suspected about Marge Truman.
Is Marge from 'Welcome to Derry' Richie's Mom?
IT: Welcome to Derry's finale revealed that Pennywise sees time differently, and the ancient evil proved this by calling Marge, "Margaret Tozier," during their confrontation before showing a missing poster of Richie from the future. This revelation confirmed that Marge is the mother of Richie Tozier (Finn Wolfhard) in IT: Chapter One and IT: Chapter Two.
Pennywise: "Margaret Tozier!"
Marge Truman: "Tozier?"
Pennywise: "Oh, but not yet. You’re not Tozier yet. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Richie in the baby carriage! Unless… unless he dies with you!"
In an exclusive interview with The Direct, IT: Welcome to Derry star Arian S. Cartaya confirmed that Richie from the IT movies is named after his character, Rich, noting that Marge did fall in love with Rich in high school and "she's naming her son after Rich" while also saying that he was "amazed:"
The Direct: "Did you also know that from the start that you're the great Richie's namesake, you know, from the original story? Did they let you know?"
Arian S. Cartaya: "They kept it a little away from us that Richie's named after Rich and Marge is Richie's mom. But it wasn't until a few weeks before that scene that we had a meeting about all of what's going to happen in the Black Spot, and then they also brought that up, that Marge is Richie's mom, and Marge fell in love with Rich in high school, and she's naming her son after Rich, and I was amazed. I was like, 'Wow, this is happening right in front of my eyes.' Like I was so excited and I was happy."
Cartaya's comment essentially confirmed what fans suspected about the true origins of Richie's name, and it gives new meaning to fans when rewatching some key scenes in the IT movies.
Interestingly, there were clues throughout the finale that Marge was Rich's mom even before Pennywise's big reveal, such as Marge's constant swearing and uttering the same line that Richie said in Chapter One by saying, "I want to kill that f***ing clown."
Rich's heroic sacrifice in IT: Welcome to Derry took place during the Burning of the Black Spot after he decided to save Marge amid the burning chaos. This moment also shared a tender moment between the pair while they professed their love for each other, which made Rich's act more heartbreaking.
Circling back to the finale, Pennywise's act of trying to kill Marge proved that he is not as vulnerable as people think because he wanted to prevent his grim fate in the IT movies by preventing Richie Tozier from being born.
Given that the killer clown wasn't able to kill Marge, Pennywise's whole mission in future seasons could be targeting those who have ties to the Losers' Club by going backwards in time to ensure that they will never be born out of existence:
Pennywise: "Your son! Don’t you recognize your little boy? The seed of your stinking loins and his filthy friends bring me my death! Or is it birth? I get confused. Tomorrow? Yesterday? It’s all the same for little Pennywise. But it’s not always easy! No. Being caged up in one place, one time. They can’t fence me in. Not them! And not you. Beep beep, Margie."
Why Richie Tozier Is Important in The Fight Against Pennywise
Richie Tozier's foul-mouthed and strong bravado made him the perfect anchor of bravery for the Losers' Club in the IT movies. Richie's sarcastic and loud humor brought levity to the team's terrifying encounters with Pennywise, effectively helping his friends power through and prevent fear from overwhelming them in key situations. At one point, Richie even delivered the first blow against Pennywise during the climactic battle in IT: Chapter One, which convinced the Losers to attack the clown rather than succumb to their fear.
This is why Pennywise wanted to kill Marge in 1962 because the ancient evil knew how much Richie contributed to its downfall. By eliminating Richie's humorous antics, the Losers' Club would have become more vulnerable because there would have been no one to make them smile or laugh amid the chaos.
Even though Pennywise failed to kill Marge in the past, the ancient evil still knew how to weaponize Richie's fear in the future because he was secretly keeping his sexuality about being gay a secret in the films. Richie was confirmed to be in love with his fellow Losers' Club member, Eddie, but he didn't have the chance to say it due to Pennywise's brutal killing of him during the climactic battle in IT: Chapter Two.
Despite that, Eddie's death proved to be instrumental in allowing Richie to embrace his true sexuality in IT: Chapter Two's ending, proving that Pennywise's plan to break him didn't really work.
