Dancing clowns, swamp men, flying dragons, the Monterey Five, and a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. It's time for the best movie and TV trailers of the week!
First up we have an extremely exciting first look at the next chapter in Andy Muschietti's IT, based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. The trailer opens with an adult Beverly Marsh visiting her childhood home, a titular scene from the novel with one very major difference. Director Muschietti makes good use of disquieting activities going on in the background, just out of focus, which means watching the little teaser over and over again pays off pretty well if you want to make sure you've caught everything. The footage also shows the Losers Club all reuniting as grown-ups, wandering the desolate and apparently mostly deserted streets of Derry, Maine, as well as Pennywise himself jumping off of a giant Paul Bunyan statue and being carried away by a dozen bright red balloons as Richie (Bill Hader) watches in horror. In the book, the statue comes alive and attacks Richie, but something tells me the movie isn't going to go that route. It's also worth noting that when the Losers are seen as adults down in the sewer, presumably going after It, Mike (Isaiah Mustafa) is with them, which is another big change from the book. So far, based on what I've seen here, it seems like Mushietti is making the right choices as to which moments to keep onscreen from the book and which to leave behind.
In the comic book world, there's a brand new trailer for the upcoming SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME, which shockingly features Tom Holland at the beginning of the trailer warning fans to watch out for spoilers. Holland advises everyone watching the video to stop what they're doing right now if they haven't seen AVENGERS: ENDGAME yet, because that movie is about to be ruined for them if they proceed. However, if you've seen ENDGAME, and you know how it ends, get ready for a very attractive Jake Gyllenhaal sporting a very attractive five o'clock shadow. Oh yeah, and Spider-Man's in it too, I guess. Just kidding, I'm actually very excited to see this movie and I get very teary-eyed whenever little Spidey talks about how much he misses an old friend. But also, that Gyllenhaal beard. Goodness.
There's also a first trailer for THE LODGE, the newest horror movie from the folks who brought us GOODNIGHT MOMMY, which means I'm going to put it in my eyeballs as soon as humanly possible. A24 just released their first official trailer for THE FAREWELL, which features rising star Awkwafina in a story about a Chinese family who discovers their grandmother has only a short while left to live and decide to keep her in the dark, scheduling a wedding to gather before she dies. The film received rave reviews out of the Sundance Film Festival, and I can't wait to watch it.
This week in TV trailers brings us new peeks at WATCHMEN, GAME OF THRONES Season 8 Episode 5, BATWOMAN, COBRA KAI Season 3, BIG LITTLE LIES Season 2, SWAMP THING, ABSENTIA Season 2, JETT, THE INBETWEEN, BLOOD & TREASURE, SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT Season 2, PERPETUAL GRACE LTD, HIGH SEAS, GOOD TROUBLE Season 2, THE DETOUR Season 4, and DESIGNATED SURVIVOR Season 3.
There were many exciting new trailers this week, but perhaps the most thrilling is our first look at the upcoming IT: CHAPTER 2. I'm trying not to get too hyped just yet, especially since Cary Fukunaga is not involved with the sequel at all, and I would argue he's a big reason why the first film is so darn good (the script they used is still very much Fukunaga's writing), but this first teaser looks downright spectacular. I mean, did you see that blood bath?