Fear doesn’t just creep into Derry—it settles like fog, clinging to every frame of HBO Max’s new red band trailer for IT: Welcome to Derry. The prequel series, set in the 1960s, promises to expand Stephen King’s haunted universe with a mix of nostalgia, dread, and the kind of imagery that makes you want to leave the lights on. And yes, Bill Skarsgård is back, grinning through the greasepaint as Pennywise.
A Trailer That Finally Bites
The new trailer isn’t coy. It’s bloodier, meaner, and more ambitious than the earlier teases. We see children vanishing, soldiers rattled by unseen horrors, and the town itself turning into a character—Derry as a trap you can’t escape. The footage suggests multiple storylines converging into the inevitable arrival of the alien entity that becomes Pennywise. It’s less about jump scares and more about inevitability, the sense that doom is stitched into the sidewalks.
The Poster: Americana with a Shiver
The companion poster leans into retro Americana: a smiling family strolling down Main Street, a red balloon floating innocently above. The tagline—“Visit the town everyone’s dying to see”—is pure King irony. It’s the kind of marketing that works because it unsettles: the cheerfulness feels wrong, like a postcard mailed from hell.
Cast and Creative Team
The ensemble includes Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, James Remar, Stephen Rider, Madeleine Stowe, Rudy Mancuso, and Skarsgård reprising his iconic role. Behind the camera, Andy Muschietti directs select episodes, continuing the visual language he established in IT (2017) and IT Chapter Two (2019). HBO and Warner Bros. Television are backing the project, with the series debuting on October 26, 2025.
Why This Matters
Horror prequels are notoriously tricky—explaining the monster often kills the mystery. But Welcome to Derry seems less interested in demystifying Pennywise and more in showing how the town itself breeds fear. If the trailer is any indication, the series will explore how trauma, repression, and small‑town rot create fertile ground for evil. That’s not just horror—it’s cultural critique.
What We Learned from the IT: Welcome to Derry Trailer
- Pennywise Returns: Bill Skarsgård is back, ensuring continuity with the films.
- 1960s Setting: The prequel roots the story in Cold War paranoia and small‑town repression.
- Poster Irony: A cheerful family ad becomes a horror postcard, balloon included.
- Expanded Storylines: Kids, military, disappearances—all feeding into Pennywise’s rise.
- Release Date: Streaming begins October 26, 2025, exclusively on HBO Max.
FAQ
Does the trailer reveal too much about Pennywise?
Not really. It teases his presence but keeps the full reveal for the series, focusing instead on atmosphere and dread.
How does the poster connect to Stephen King’s themes?
It weaponizes nostalgia—turning small‑town Americana into a mask for horror, exactly what King has always done best.
Why set the series in the 1960s?
The era’s cultural anxieties—war, repression, conformity—mirror the town’s rot, making it the perfect backdrop for Pennywise’s emergence.
