Bill Skarsgård's "hardcore" Pennywise is heard but not seen in new sneak peek of horror prequel series It: Welcome to Derry

Max isn't clowning around with its new look at upcoming horror prequel It: Welcome to Derry, even if Bill Skarsgård's Pennywise is nowhere to be seen...

In the fresh sneak peek, which was packaged inside the streamer's latest Coming Soon promo, we briefly see the show's version of the Losers Club – whose identities are being kept secret for now – walking their bicycles under a railroad track, before it cuts to a scene of a young girl ominously stating: "I did hear voices."

We then catch glimpses of Jovan Adepo's character staring wide-eyed at a red balloon floating amongst the branches of a tree, as we hear Pennywise's screechy laugh in the background. The short clip, which kicks off at around 1:08 below, finishes with another Maine kid peering down a drain, before standing up straight and screaming into the camera. It's fair to say, then, that frights await...

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Based on Stephen King's 1986 novel, It: Welcome to Derry acts as a prequel to Andy Muschietti's It and It: Chapter Two. The filmmaker developed the title with his producer-writer sister Barbara and Jason Fuchs. While the kid actors have yet to be announced, we know the supporting cast consists of Adepo, Chris Chalk, Taylour Paige, James Remar, and Stephen Rider.

According to an interview Muschietti did previously with Entertainment Weekly, the series is based around a story Mike Hanlon is told by his father, Will, in King's original novel – only reimagining that it took place in the '60s rather than the '30s. As Will recollects to his son, he and his Air Force comrades once opened the Black Spot, a bar and nightclub frequented by non-white patrons. But tragedy struck when a radicalized supremacist group burned it down one terrible night. In the book, Mike concludes that It was present that fateful evening, having presented himself as a giant bird who snatched away its victim in the chaos.

"We are telling the stories of the interludes, writings by Mike Hanlon based on his investigation that includes interviews he conducts with the older people in the town," Muschietti told the publication. "In Welcome to Derry, we touch on the usual themes that were talked about in the movie – friendship, loss, the power of unified belief – but this story focuses also on the use of fear as a weapon, which is one of the things that is also relevant to our times."

It: Welcome to Derry premieres sometime in 2025. While we wait for an exact release date, check out our picks of the most exciting new TV shows heading our way.