HOME / ENTERTAINMENT / TV

'It: Welcome to Derry' Season 2 creator drops major plot update featuring a brutal 1935 crime arc

Creator, director, and executive producer of 'It: Welcome to Derry' revealed what to expect in the much-awaited season 2 of the HBO series.

'It: Welcome to Derry' Season 2 has a new update — one that surely pleases Stephen King’s faithful. Creator, director, and executive producer Andy Muschietti revealed a major development about the second installment. The HBO series, serving as a prequel to King's cult classic, traces the origins of Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) and a curse that haunts the town. 'Welcome to Derry' follows a group of kids, Lilly Bainbridge (Clara Stock), Will Hanlon (Blake Cameron James), and Veronica 'Ronnie' Grogan (Amanda Christine), as they investigate the mysterious disappearance of their friend Matty (Miles Ekhardt).

Speaking during Deadline's Contenders TV panel, Muschietti said the upcoming season will focus on the subplot of the original '86 novel. "It’s 1935 – we’re now working on it, and it’s so much fun," Muschietti said. "For those of you who read the books, probably the Bradley Gang sounds familiar. The Bradley Gang was a gang of bank robbers that — not accidentally, but they were on their way somewhere, and they stopped in Derry to buy some ammo, and something horrible happens. The Bradley Gang is based on the Brady Gang, which is a real-life gang of robbers that was executed in the streets of Bangor, Maine. And now we’re not creating the event that the big paroxysm of violence in this case will be the massacre of a Bradley gang."

Fans who caught the show will remember that Marge, Lily, and Ronnie manage to contain Pennywise with the help of a mystical dagger to rebuild his cage and push him back to the sewer. The ending shows that the evil clown was not destroyed, paving the way for his return in 27 years. The ending also strengthens the connection to the films by confirming that Marge is the mother of Richie Tozier, a character fans already know. Tozier was portrayed by Finn Wolfhard as a child in the 2017 film and by Bill Hader as an adult in the 2019 sequel.

At the time of writing, there is no official release date for 'It: Welcome to Derry', though speculation is rife about a late 2027 or early 2028 window. Season 1 premiered in October last year and received positive reviews from critics. The writing and visual effects received mixed reviews, but the series as a whole was regarded as one of the highly anticipated shows that lived up to its billing. 'It: Welcome to Derry' season 1 can be streamed on HBO Max.