All About “IT: Welcome to Derry” Season 2, Featuring Pennywise’s Terrifying Origin Story
All About “IT: Welcome to Derry” Season 2, Featuring Pennywise’s Terrifying Origin Story
Christopher Rudolph, Caroline BlairSat, August 22, 2026 at 12:30 PM UTC
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Bill Skarsgård in ‘IT: Welcome to Derry’Credit: Brooke Palmer/HBO -
IT: Welcome to Derry was renewed for a second season nearly a year after the first season premiered
The Stephen King series will jump back in time to 1935; the first season was set in 1962
Bill Skarsgård has not been confirmed to return as Pennywise, though he previously enjoyed exploring new sides of the character
Horror fans, rejoice!
IT: Welcome to Derrywas officially renewed for season 2 in August 2026. The HBO Original expands the Stephen KingIT universe as a prequel series.
“Continuing to explore and expand on the amazing world Stephen King created is an absolute privilege,” executive producers Andy and Barbara Muschietti said in a press release.
The second season will be set in 1935 around the Great Depression and “centers on the bloody massacre of the Bradley Gang,” a group of bank robbers terrorizing Derry, per the season’s official description.
The first chapter of IT: Welcome to Derry came to a close in December 2025, and since then, the creators have already been vocal about their hopes for the series.
“When we all sat down and started thinking about this, there were three chapters in our heads,” co-showrunner Jason Fuchs told Deadline when asked about what’s planned for the show.
Here’s everything to know about IT: Welcome to Derry season 2.
Will there be an IT: Welcome to Derry season 2?
“IT: Welcome to Derry” episode 8Credit: Brooke Palmer/HBO
IT: Welcome to Derry was officially renewed for season 2 on Aug. 17. The renewal news came after season 1 skyrocketed and ranked in the top four series premieres globally in HBO Max history, per the streamer.
“We are excited to return to the chilling world of Derry and to further expand on Andy and Barbara Muschietti’s horrifically iconic adaptation,” Head of HBO Max Original Programming, Sarah Aubrey, said in a press release. “Together with Brad Caleb Kane, they will break new ground in season two, deepening the terror, the mystery, and the unforgettable Pennywise lore that fans love to devour.”
Brad Caleb Kane was previously a co-showrunner alongside Fuchs in season 1, but Kane is set to be the only showrunner in season 2.
What will IT: Welcome to Derry season 2 be about?
‘IT: Welcome to Derry’Credit: Brooke Palmer/HBO
IT: Welcome to Derry season 2 will revolve around the second cycle of Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård)— the terrifying monster who wakes up every 27 years.
“Season two takes place in 1935 during the Great Depression and centers on the bloody massacre of the Bradley Gang, a group of bank robbers who stop in Derry to buy ammo and end up facing unimaginable horror,” the official description reads.
Ahead of the renewal, Andy told Variety in October 2025 that he was hoping for three seasons to show Pennywise’s arc.
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“Our big story arc involves three seasons, mainly based on the three critical cycles of Pennywise, which are 1962, 1935 and 1908,” Muschietti explained.
In the season 1 finale of IT: Welcome to Derry, it was revealed that Pennywise doesn’t experience time linearly. He already knows that he’s going to be killed by members of the Losers Club in the future, so the next season could see him going back in time to prevent it.
When will IT: Welcome to Derry season 2 be set?
‘IT: Welcome to Derry’Credit: Brooke Palmer/HBO
Season 2 of IT: Welcome to Derry will be set in 1935, which is 27 years before the first season that was mainly set in 1962.
The co-creators had already hinted that after season 1, the subsequent installments would take the action back to 1935 and 1908, as the creature awakens from his sleep cycle every 27 years.
“There is a reason why there are three seasons and there is a very clear end goal of a bigger arc. It’s not just, ‘Let’s see what happens in Season 2,’ “ Muschietti told Collider in October 2025. “There is a reason why we decided to tell this story and specifically tell it backwards.”
“There is satisfaction at the end of Season 1, but there is definitely a question mark at the end of it,” he teased.
Will Bill Skarsgård return for IT: Welcome to Derry season 2?
‘IT: Welcome to Derry’Credit: Brooke Palmer/HBO
There have been no casting announcements about IT: Welcome to Derry season 2, including whether Skarsgård will be back to clown it up as Pennywise.
After playing the villain in It and It: Chapter Two, the actor admitted he was hesitant to slip on Pennywise’s dancing shoes again, but said “things changed” when he heard about what producers Andy and Barbara had in mind for the prequel series.
In a December 2024 interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Skarsgård talked about his experience of filming IT: Welcome to Derry, saying, “It was fun. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, actually.”
“And there’s parts of it where we got to explore sides of old Pennywise that you haven’t seen, and that’s fun,” he continued, per Deadline. “I think there’s some cool stuff in there that we haven’t seen that I’m excited for the people to watch and enjoy hopefully.”
Even if Skarsgård does reprise his role for a second season, it is unclear if he would be in every episode, since Pennywise didn’t make his grand entrance until episode 5 of the first season.
Where can I watch IT: Welcome to Derry?
‘IT: Welcome to Derry’Credit: Brooke Palmer/HBO
IT: Welcome to Derry is available to stream on HBO Max.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
