It: Welcome to Derry Season 2 is moving forward. Scripts are underway, casting has started, and filming is planned for summer 2027. The story moves to 1935, during the Great Depression, and centers on the Bradley Gang. Pennywise will appear differently, but HBO has not announced a release date yet.
What Is the Latest It: Welcome to Derry Season 2 Update?
Welcome to Derry Season 2 is officially moving forward after HBO renewed the prequel series in August 2026. Brad Caleb Kane is now the sole showrunner, with Andy and Barbara Muschietti still closely involved. The second season moves back to 1935, during the Great Depression, and will explore the Bradley Gang massacre. HBO has not announced a release date, but filming is planned for summer 2027. Season 2 is expected to introduce new children and characters while revisiting Derry’s hidden history.
When Will It: Welcome to Derry Season 2 Start Filming?
Kane says the new season is well beyond the idea stage. Writing is underway, casting has started, and the team already has a production schedule. Andy Muschietti is helping with casting, while Kane and the wider creative team continue shaping the next chapter.
- Script progress: Kane said, “We’re writing the scripts. We’re about halfway through the writing of the scripts.”
- Green light: He added, “We have a production schedule, we’re greenlit for a Season 2, and Andy Muschietti’s out there casting.”
- Filming window: Kane later said, “We’re starting to shoot in the summer of next year,” pointing to summer 2027.
- Setting: Season 2 takes place in 1935 and focuses on the Bradley Gang, bank robbers tied to one of Derry’s most infamous violent events.
- Cast status: New casting announcements are still expected, and specific returning characters have not been confirmed.
How Will 1935 Change Pennywise and the Story in Season 2?
Kane’s interviews show that Welcome to Derry will look and feel very different from the first season. The story shifts away from suburban comfort and into Depression-era hardship, crime, and fear. The Bradley Gang massacre becomes a major story point, while Pennywise remains part of the chilling world Stephen King created.
- Gangster tone: Kane said, “It’s 1935, it’s a Warner Bros. gangster movie.”
- Period details: He described the season as “bank robbers and Hoovervilles and street urchins riding the rails religious fundamentalism.”
- Pennywise change: Kane teased “a different kind of Pennywise, Pennywise the way you’ve never seen that character before.”
- Bigger scale: He said the season will be “a bigger season than Season 1.”
- More horror: Kane also said it will be “as terrifying” as the first season, “if not more.”
- Creative partnership: Kane called working with Andy and Barbara Muschietti “a meeting of the minds.”
Final Thoughts
Welcome to Derry Season 2 is breaking new ground by moving to 1935 and exploring the Bradley Gang massacre during the Great Depression. Brad Caleb Kane leads the next chapter as sole showrunner, while executive producers Andy and Barbara Muschietti, Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Jamie Travis, and Dhana Gilbert remain involved. The Muschiettis called continuing Stephen King’s world “an absolute privilege.”
FAQs
Yes, HBO officially renewed the series for Season 2 in August 2026, with writing, casting, and production planning underway.
Bill Skarsgård is strongly expected to return as Pennywise, although one report noted that formal Season 2 casting had not yet been fully confirmed.
The story moves to Depression-era 1935 and focuses on the Bradley Gang and the bloody massacre tied to Derry’s history.
Brad Caleb Kane is the sole showrunner after previously sharing co-showrunner duties with Jason Fuchs.
Yes, the series is exploring older events from Stephen King’s mythology, including the Bradley Gang era, while references to events such as the Black Spot support the wider history of Derry.