HBO Max drops ‘It: Welcome to Derry’ trailer, and Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise return is absolute nightmare fuel

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Plus plenty of Stephen King Easter eggs to be found

Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise seen in a promo image for HBO Max's prequel series "IT: Welcome to Derry"
(Image credit: Warner Bros. Discovery)

Bill Skarsgård is back for another terrifying turn as Pennywise in "It: Welcome to Derry," and HBO Max has just released a new blood-soaked official trailer that teases "something bad is coming" in the highly anticipated prequel series. Set to premiere on October 26, just a few days before Halloween, the eight-episode series is shaping up to be another standout entry in the ever-growing library of Stephen King adaptations.

This time around, audiences head back to the perennially haunted Derry, Maine, for a completely different story from the pages of King's "It" novel. The settings and characters draw inspiration from one of the novel's many interludes, following the father of Loser's Club member Mike Hanlon and his time living in Derry while serving in the military. The prequel series comes from Andy and Barbara Muschietti, the creative team behind "It" and “It Chapter Two,” as well as Jason Fuchs, who worked on “It Chapter Two” and “Wonder Woman.” Check out the trailer below:

IT: Welcome to Derry | Official Trailer | HBO Max - YouTube IT: Welcome to Derry | Official Trailer | HBO Max - YouTube
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The trailer builds tension with shots of the social climate of 1960s Derry as Hanlon's family struggles to adapt to their new home. We soon learn that Derry has a dark and disturbing history marked by a long trail of unsolved crimes, particularly the disappearances of local children. A group of kids begins to suspect that the missing are being held somewhere beneath the town, deep in the sewers, where they soon discover that Pennywise is lurking in the shadows.

The trailer ends with a chilling glimpse of Skarsgård’s Pennywise, his face obscured behind the iconic red balloon as he creeps in the shadows. It then cuts to a shot of a young girl screaming, her face smeared with blood. Another shot of a meteor crashing to Earth hints at a deeper dive into Pennywise’s origins that goes beyond what the 2017 and 2019 films explored. Eagle-eyed King fans can spot several nods to other stories in the author's multiverse, including a Shawshank State Penitentiary bus full of prisoners and a glimpse of Dick Hallorann, the telepathic chef from "The Shining."

In addition to Skarsgård, an impressive line-up is set to star in the series, including Taylour Paige ("Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F"), Jovan Adepo ("Babylon"), James Remar ("Dexter: Resurrection"), Madeleine Stowe ("The Last of the Mohicans"), Stephen Rider ("Luke Cage"), Rudy Mancuso ("Música"), and more.

"It: Welcome to Derry" premieres on HBO Max on October 26.

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Alyse Stanley
Alyse Stanley
News Editor

Alyse Stanley is a news editor at Tom’s Guide, overseeing weekend coverage and writing about the latest in tech, gaming, and entertainment. Before Tom’s Guide, Alyse worked as an editor for the Washington Post’s sunsetted video game section, Launcher. She previously led Gizmodo’s weekend news desk and has written game reviews and features for outlets like Polygon, Unwinnable, and Rock, Paper, Shotgun. She’s a big fan of horror movies, cartoons, and roller skating. She's also a puzzle fan and can often be found contributing to the NYT Connections coverage on Tom's Guide

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