IT Chapter Two

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Lore & Background

In the mythology of Derry, the entity known as It awakens every 27 years to feed on fear. It was brought to Earth millions of years ago by a meteorite. The Losers Club first defeated It in 1989, but in 2016 It returns. Mike Hanlon, the only Loser who stayed in Derry, summons the others. The Native American 'Ritual of Chüd' can defeat It using artifacts from the Losers' past, performed in the remains of the meteor that brought It to Earth. The ritual fails because it killed the original native performers. The Losers ultimately defeat It by psychologically antagonising and belittling It, making It smaller and smaller until Mike pulls out Its heart and they crush it. Stanley Uris kills himself before the reunion, too scared to face It, but his suicide was intended to strengthen his friends against It.

In Their Own Story

In 2016, twenty-seven years after It's initial defeat, Pennywise returns to Derry, Maine, killing a man named Adrian Mellon after he and his boyfriend are brutally assaulted by homophobic teens. Mike Hanlon summons the other Losers: Bill Denbrough, Ben Hanscom, Beverly Marsh, Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak, and Stanley Uris. All return except Stanley, who kills himself. Mike refreshes their memories. Beverly reveals visions of their deaths if they fail. It kills a little girl named Victoria at a baseball game and helps Henry Bowers escape a mental institution. The Losers retrieve artifacts from their past: Bill recovers Georgie's paper sailboat, Beverly retrieves Ben's love poem, Richie collects a game token, Ben uses a yearbook page, Eddie recovers an inhaler. They are attacked by various forms of It. Henry Bowers attacks Eddie and Mike before Richie kills him. The Losers descend into the cavern beneath the sewers. The Ritual of Chüd fails. It attacks them, placing Bill, Ben, and Beverly in hallucinations. They escape when Bill releases guilt over Georgie's death and Beverly realizes Ben wrote the love letter. Eddie saves Richie but is fatally impaled. The Losers psychologically belittle It, making It shrink until Mike pulls out Its heart and they crush it. Eddie dies. The Losers part ways: Ben and Beverly marry, Richie returns to the kissing bridge, Mike moves out, Bill writes a new story. Stanley had written letters to the Losers before his suicide, ending with 'We're Losers, and always will be'.

Reader's Guide

The film premiered at the Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles on August 26, 2019, and was released in the United States on September 6. It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $473.1 million worldwide. Filming took place from June to November 2018 at Pinewood Toronto Studios, Oshawa, Toronto, and Port Hope on a $79 million budget. The cast includes Jessica Chastain as adult Beverly Marsh, James McAvoy as adult Bill Denbrough, Bill Hader as adult Richie Tozier, Isaiah Mustafa as adult Mike Hanlon, Jay Ryan as adult Ben Hanscom, James Ransone as adult Eddie Kaspbrak, and Andy Bean as adult Stanley Uris. Young versions are played by Sophia Lillis, Jaeden Martell, Finn Wolfhard, Chosen Jacobs, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Jack Dylan Grazer, and Wyatt Oleff. Bill Skarsgård returns as Pennywise. A prequel television series, titled It: Welcome to Derry, premiered on HBO on October 26, 2025, with Skarsgård reprising his role as Pennywise.

Did You Know?

• The film grossed $473.1 million worldwide on a $79 million budget.
• Filming took place from June to November 2018 at Pinewood Toronto Studios, Oshawa, Toronto, and Port Hope.
• A prequel television series, It: Welcome to Derry, premiered on HBO on October 26, 2025, with Bill Skarsgård reprising his role as Pennywise.
• Stanley Uris kills himself before the reunion, and his suicide was intended to strengthen his friends against It.
• The Losers defeat It by psychologically antagonising and belittling It until Mike pulls out Its heart and they crush it.