“It: Welcome to Derry” Season Two to Spotlight 1935 Bradley Gang

Stephen King’s 1986 novel *IT* includes a subplot about a group of bank robbers who stop in Derry, Maine, to buy ammunition before a violent encounter. The fictional “Bradley Gang” draws on the real-life Brady Gang, a mid-1930s criminal outfit ambushed in Bangor, Maine. HBO Max’s limited series *It: Welcome to Derry* adapted the novel’s first half, depicting a 1960s-era Derry haunted by the entity.

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Andy Muschietti told Deadline’s Contenders TV panel that season two will jump to 1935 and center on the Bradley Gang. He described the gang as “a gang of bank robbers … they stopped in Derry to buy some ammo and something horrible happens.” Muschietti said the gang’s death will become the “big paroxysm of violence” for the season, echoing the Black Spot fire and theater massacre of season one. The Depression-era setting removes “suburban comfort” and forces characters to “struggle to survive.”

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Muschietti said the Depression-era backdrop “dramatically changes the setup” of the series, shifting away from the familiar suburban-kid-on-a-bike motif. He confirmed the writers are using the period to explore new thematic ground while staying true to King’s source material. Muschietti also previewed a future arc, noting “Season 3 would be the explosion of the Kitchener Iron Works, a big explosion during an Easter egg hunt where a hundred kids lost their lives.” He reiterated his interest in the novel’s unresolved mysteries, such as Bob Gray, and described the upcoming season as opening “another window into that enigma.”

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• “It’s 1935 – we’re now working on it, and it’s so much fun,” — Andy Muschietti, Creator/Director

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• “The Bradley Gang is based on the Brady Gang, which is a real-life gang of robbers that were executed in the streets of Bangor, Maine,” — Andy Muschietti

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• “There’s no suburban comfort — the trope of the kids that live in suburbia and they ride their bikes and suddenly one of them disappears is nothing like this.” — Andy Muschietti

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• “During the shoot of IT 2,” he added, “we kept having these conversations about the possibilities of making an origin story of, how did Bob Gray become [Pennywise] the clown?” — Andy Muschietti

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Anchoring season two in the Depression era expands the *IT* mythos beyond the 1960s, giving viewers a historically grounded view of Derry’s recurring evil. The true-crime-inspired gang links King’s horror to actual 1930s criminal history, adding a historical crime dimension to the series.

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Production on season two is underway; Muschietti says HBO Max plans a “near-future” release. His comments about a season-three arc suggest a multi-year roadmap for the franchise, continuing to explore the novel’s unresolved plot threads.

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