Showrunner Brad Caleb Kane has teased what's to come next from It: Welcome to Derry season 2, saying that it's "very different" from the first outing.
"We’re making something very exciting for season 2 that I can’t talk too much about, but it’s got a different palette," said Kane to Entertainment Weekly. "It’s the Depression, it’s 1935. Beyond that, I can’t talk about it, but you can imagine a Warner Bros. gangster picture through the lens of Pennywise and Stephen King. That’s kind of what we’re doing."
Fresh off releasing his new Friday the 13th prequel series Crystal Lake, Kane serves as sole showrunner on It: Welcome to Derry season 2. Kane served as co-showrunner on season 1 with Jason Fuchs, created by Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti. Kane confirms the team is "deep into the writers' room," adding, "We have multiple scripts, we’ve broken more than half the story for season 2, and we’re edging into pre-production... It’s very exciting. It’s very, very bloody, and it’s very different from season 1."
Season 1 was set 27 years before Muschietti's first It movie, in the 1960s, when Pennywise terrorised a bunch of kids after a boy disappeared, eventually leading to the devastating fire at The Black Spot. Season 2 is set to go back another 27 years to the 1930s, focusing on another dark piece of Derry history, The Bradley Gang Massacre.
The tragic event, which is mentioned in Stephen King's original 1986 novel, follows a band of criminals known as the Bradley Gang who robbed stores and banks in Derry, leading to a deadly shootout in the middle of the town. But when anything horrific happens in Derry, Pennywise is not far away, as he feeds on negative energy. According to King’s IT, Pennywise was present at the shootout, just like he was at The Black Spot.
Season 2 is still in the very early developmental stage, with an official synopsis and cast announcements yet to be made. It is expected that Bill Skarsgård will return as Pennywise. Beyond that, Andy Muschietti has already confirmed that younger versions of season 1 characters will be in the show. But due to season 2 being set almost three decades earlier, new, younger actors will have to be cast.
It: Welcome to Derry does not yet have a release date. For more, check out our list of the best shows on HBO Max, and keep up with upcoming Stephen King movies and shows on the way.
