*Warning: Spoilers ahead for Stephen King’s IT* Good news, horror fans – IT: Welcome to Derry season two is officially going ahead. What’s more, new details confirm the second chapter will take us further back in time and show us one of Stephen King’s most barbaric massacres. Season one of the IT prequel series took us back to Derry circa 1962, 27 years before the events of the first movie, following a new group of kids as Pennywise once again began terrorising the town. The finale saw the group successfully trap Pennywise and force him back into his 27-year slumber, while also revealing some huge connections to the movies – including that Marge would eventually become the mother of Richie Tozier. But rather than moving forward from there, season two is travelling another 27 years back in time, taking us to 1935 and the Great Depression – and to a bloody event that was actually teased throughout season one. IT: Welcome to Derry season 2 to portray the Bradley Gang massacre IT: Welcome to Derry season two will tell the story of the Bradley Gang massacre. For the uninitiated, the Bradley Gang were notorious bank robbers described in Stephen King’s IT who arrive in Derry and are recognised by the locals. This wall mural in the 2017 remake of Stephen Kings It movie depicts the famous Bradley gang shoot out in Derry, where for the first time a group of adults can all recall seeing Pennywise the clown. byu/stinkfingerdeluxe420 inMovieDetails Although the story is told by Norbert Keene to Mike Hanlon in the ‘80s, the actual incident he describes took place in 1929. He reveals that rather than simply alerting the authorities about the robbers, dozens of townspeople armed themselves and ultimately organised a public – and very violent – execution. As King wrote in his infamous horror novel, “There must have been fifty, sixty men firing all at once. After it was all over Lal Machen dug thirty-six slugs out of the brick sides of his store. And that was three days later, after just about every-damn-body in town who wanted one for a souvenir had come down and dug one out with his penknife. “When it was at its worst, it sounded like the Battle of the Marne. Windows were blown in by rifle-fire all around Machen’s.” Speaking about the gang during the attack, Keene said, “Bradley got the La Salle around in a half-circle and he wasn’t slow but by the time he’d done he was running on four flats. Both the headlights were blowed out, and the windscreen was gone. “Creeping Jesus Malloy and George Bradley were each at a backseat window, firing pistols. I seen one bullet take Malloy high up in the neck and tear it wide open. He shot twice more and then collapsed out the window with his arms hanging down.” He added, “George Bradley run as far as that bench by the War Memorial, then someone pulped the back of his head with a shotgun blast. He fell down dead with his pants full of piss.” @hbomax 1935. #ITWelcomeToDerry will return for Season Two. ♬ original sound – HBO Max Following the incident, the news was presented as if the FBI had carried out the shooting. The publisher of the article, Mack Laughlin, put two rounds into one of the members himself. And this is what demonstrates why it’s not just the violence of the incident itself that makes it so disturbing – it’s the participation of ordinary Derry residents and Pennywise’s presence among them. Keene was asked if there was anyone he didn’t recognise that day, and his reply left Mike’s blood running cold. “The clown, you mean?” he said. “I only caught a glimpse of him.” He and Biff Marlow spotted Pennywise with a gun and assumed it was either a local who didn’t want to be recognised or a clown from the fair, but we as the reader know what this really means. Biff recalled seeing the clown leaning so far out of the window, to which Mike said, “Like he was floating.” But perhaps most chilling of all was “that clown didn’t cast any shadow. No shadow at all.” Credit: HBO Max The massacre is significant because it coincides with another of Pennywise’s cycles of violence in Derry, with the creature awakening roughly every 27 years before eventually retreating back into hibernation. And like the Black Spot fire at the centre of season one, the Bradley Gang massacre gives the show another opportunity to explore an especially unsettling part of Pennywise’s influence: the idea that the monster doesn’t always need to do the killing itself. Is there a release window? The good news is, IT: Welcome to Derry is definitely returning to HBO Max. The bad news is we’re in for a bit of a wait. According to Deadline, season two has been in the pipeline for some time and HBO was just waiting for the creative take. Season one took roughly 15 months to make, and some estimates suggest season two could arrive as early as Halloween 2027. Until then, we’ll just have to prepare ourselves for another trip into Derry’s deeply messed-up history. For all the latest film and TV updates and hot takes, like our Facebook page. Featured image credit: HBO Max Post navigation Next story
