WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Stephen King's 1986 novel IT, and for the upcoming film IT: Chapter Two.
The second, and final, trailer for IT: Chapter Two reveals the nightmarish return of Pennywise to Derry, Maine, 27 years after after the killing spree depicted in the 2017 film. However, the new footage from the adaptation of Stephen King's bestselling novel also reunites the members of the Losers' Club, now adults, who may be the town's only chance of stopping the supernatural horror.
While the trailer avoids revealing too much, it provides enough details that, with a little knowledge of the source material, we can discern some key developments. We see hints of never-before-adapted scenes, and tantalizing lore, and evidence that this film will be far more horrific that what's come before.
"The Farther Away, the Hazier it All Gets"
The trailer opens with an adult Mike Hanlon (played by Isaiah Mustafa) recalling how those who leave Derry, Maine, forget what happened in town. However, because he remained behind, he remembers.
That's taken from the 1986 novel, in which all of the central characters leave town to begin their lives, to varying degrees of success, having forgotten all about Pennywise and the murders 27 years earlier. The film will likely depict the former childhood friends meeting and reminiscing throughout the first act. That's, most likely, how the young versions of the characters will appear and interact with their adult counterparts: as manifestations of the past they left behind.
The First Death
A man is swept through the sewers, and carried closer to the insidious form of Pennywise, who holds out his hand for the drowning man before striking. For fans of the 1990 television miniseries,this scene might seem strange. Pennywise, as far as we know, only targets children. But this sequence is drawn from the book.
In the early chapters, set in the present day, Adrian Mellon walks out of a bar with his partner, Don Hagarty, when they're attacked by homophobic punks. Mellon is knocked off a bridge, into the water. He survives the fall, but is attacked by Pennywise in a nightmarish sequence. It's the event that alerts Mike that IT has returned, sparking the reunion of the Losers' Club.
One's Missing
The Losers' Club reunites, remembering the oath sworn years earlier to stop Pennywise if he ever returned. The trailer checks in on the members, one by one -- all six of them. Wait, weren't there seven?
After receiving the call from Mike, Stanley Uris, played in the 2017 film by Wyatt Oleff, kills himself rather than return to Derry. The character is portrayed as an adult by Andy Bean, so it stands to reason Chapter Two will depict his suicide and, potentially, a sequence in which Pennywise transforms into him to torment the Losers.
That's further hinted by a visual late in the trailer featuring a bloody hand resting on the edge of a bathtub. In the novel and in the miniseries, Stanley slit his wrists in a bath, but not before writing "IT" in his own blood.
Kids Will Die
Played James McAvoy, Bill is shown attempting to save a child from Pennywise at a fun house, only to fail. Although the previous trailer focused on the Losers and their confrontation with the cosmic horror Pennywise, scene reminds audiences that, on top of resisting the Losers, Pennywise is still feasting on fear, just as in the previous film. Just because the Losers are there doesn't mean IT will stop.
Henry Bowers
One sequence depicts a red balloon floating by a window while some man stares and laughs like a madman. That's Henry Bowers, played here by Teach Grant, who, in the 2017 film, was a bully who targeted the Losers' Club before becoming an agent of Pennywise's will.
He somehow survived the events of the previous film, but presumably has been institutionalized. That's in line with the events of the novel, in which Bowers is manipulated by Pennywise into attacking the adult Losers.
The Past and ... Beyond?
The final sequence shows several shots of horror and mayhem in rapid succession. The ghost of Georgie makes a return as a way for Pennywise torment Bill. There are visuals of monsters and magic already seen in the first trailer.
However, there are also images of chambers with bizarre architecture and people falling into doors, among others. Those arguably tease the cosmic horror aspects of the novel, which reveals IT isn't merely a monster but a being of almost Lovecraftian nature.
The trailer might be teasing the Ritual of Chüd, the final battle against Pennywise, in which the laws of reality and nature break down. However, it could also be trumpeting the arrival of the Turtle, the benevolent counterpart to IT. Either way, it indicates the end of IT: Chapter Two will be surreal.
Arriving Sept. 6, director Andy Muschietti's 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.