One of the more enticing, and haunting,  aspects of Stephen King's 1986 novel It was the unnerving mystery surrounding Pennywise, the dancing clown. We learned the ancient, evil entity was a shape-shifter from dark dimension called the Macroverse that would awaken every 30 years or so to feast on what would eventually become Derry, Maine.

Both the 1990 television adaptation and Andrés Muschietti's 2017 film hinted that Pennywise's backstory remained faithful to the source material. However, the first trailer for It: Chapter Two illustrates, the sequel may alter the entity's past, adding a very human twist.

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The debut trailer depicts Jessica Chastain's Beverly Marsh returning to her childhood home and encountering its current occupant, a strange old lady named Ms. Kirsch. As their uncomfortable exchange drags on, clearly as part of a twisted game, Bev tries to break the tension by complimenting the yellowed family photos adorning the walls of the living room, only. However, as her elderly host regales her from the kitchen with the story of her father arriving in America with $14 in his pocket, and then joining the circus, Bev is shocked so spot an all-too-familiar face.

In one picture, standing next to who we can assume is Ms. Kirsch as a child, is unmistakably Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) in human form. They're in front of a circus wagon emblazoned with the name "The Great Pennywise, the Dancing Clown." It's then that Ms. Kirsch ambushes a shocked Bev, hinting we'll learn much more about the creature's backstory and reason for plaguing this Maine town.

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This nuanced approach is intriguing, but we should be careful not to read too much into it. To begin with, the first film indicated Pennywise was on Earth in the 1800s. There, it slaughtered 91 people, acts blamed on natives, so we know the entity did take a form before it more or less settled on that of the dancing clown. It can also the shape of anything, from insects to spiders to birds. However, while the novel and the TV miniseries indicated the clown was simply a form the entity assumed to lure in children, here, it seems there's something more to the relationship to Mr. Kirsch.

Later in the trailer, Skarsgård's character tries unsuccessfully to peel off his grease paint. It appears to have formed a permanent mask, leading him to dig into his skin. As his face bleeds, we may be led to believe Pennywise possessed the man, and since then it's found this host body as the most appropriate for stalking Derry.

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It's also worth noting that, in the source material, Pennywise did lie and attributed to himself a human identity, Robert Gray, riffing on the real-world cannibalistic killer Albert Fish, who used that alias. Therefore, we know he operates on deceit. Here, it's clear from the elderly woman's appearance and behavior -- dancing, attracting flies and boasting welts on her body -- she's Pennywise in another form, so we also have to take whatever she says with a grain of salt. The Kirsch story simply could be a way to manipulate or torment Bev as he dredges up her own past.

Nevertheless, it may be that Pennywise won't be simply a random persona, but a true demon, possessing a seemingly desperate clown in a town where "nothing ever really dies." Well, apart from hope.

IT: Chapter Two stars Bill Skarsgård, James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Jay Ryan, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, James Ransone, Andy Bean, Teach Grant, Jess Weixler, Will Beinbrink, Xavier Dolan, Jaden Lieberher, Sophia Lillis, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Finn Wolfhard, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer, Wyatt Oleff and Nicholas Hamilton. The film opens Sept. 6.