Brace yourself, horror fans! 2025 is not going out with a whimper but a spine-chilling scare, as the biggest names in the genre are making a terrifying comeback.
From the return of the sinister dancing clown terrorising streaming platforms, to animatronics looking for a fresh bite out of their victims – here’s the latest news on horror titles coming out later this year.
Andy & Barbara Muschietti, Bill Skarsgård Return To Derry With New “IT” Series
Even after its defeat on the big screen, the horrifying alien clown still finds its way to terrorise the people of Derry. We once again revisit the horrifying world of Stephen King with a brand new series called “IT: Welcome to Derry”, which made its trailer debut during San Diego Comic-Con.
“IT: Welcome To Derry” is obviously a prequel series, exploring the early telltale signs of Pennywise lingering about in the small town. It once again follows a rag-tag group of kids trying to unravel the mystery of the malevolent beast, but what makes it differ from the movies or the original ABC miniseries is that other adults are also aware of the clown’s presence.
You can choose to write off this spin-off, as the original story is already done and dusted following the two-part movie that happened in 2017 and 2019, but there is still plenty of juicy info for you to be excited about with this series. First and foremost, the director and producer of the beloved duology, siblings Andy and Barbara Muschietti, respectively, are the masterminds behind the series. The two are joined by Jason Fuchs and the three serve as the series developers as well as its executive producers.
In even more exciting news, it has been confirmed that Bill Skarsgård will reprise his iconic role as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Though the Swedish actor has softly retired from the iconic character, as well as from monster roles as a whole, he has come back simply because the Muschiettis are the ones steering the direction of the series.
“I felt like I was done with it, in a way. It was also because I was shooting this [“Nosferatu”], I was doing Orlock, and, to me, it just felt like, ‘This is the nail in the coffin of my monster roles,'” Skarsgård said. “So I did feel I was kind of over it and wanted to do different things. Of course, the Pennywise thing as well, I’ve been quite defined by it. I was like, ‘That’s 26-year-old me. ’I’m not still a young man.’”
“Then things changed. Barbara and Andy, the Muschiettis, are doing it. I love them. They’re very close friends. Family, even. I’m the godfather of his son. So, I love them, and that was, ‘Alright, let’s bring him back.'”
Skarsgård will be joining the real heroes of the story, which include Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, James Remar, Stephen Rider, Madeleine Stowe, and Rudy Mancuso. It has been confirmed that the story will be set in the 1960s, but has a possibility to move back to 1935 or even 1908. Andy Muschietti explained that there is a reason as to why the story will move backwards – but refuses to elaborate further to avoid spoilers. We’ll perhaps see more of it when it releases this coming October on HBO Max.
Animatronic Rampages Outside Restaurant In “Five Nights At Freddy’s 2” Trailer
2023 was the peak of video game movies, where big titles finally debuted on the big screen that didn’t end up as commercial and critical failures — for once, people were enjoying quality adaptations of famous franchises that they only used to play. However, in some odd way, you can argue that we are still living in that era, as “Five Nights at Freddy’s” is back with a follow-up.
Blumhouse is once again taking another crack at Scott Cawthon’s legendary game series with the sequel, “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2”. The trailer showcases some familiar faces, some in person, some in CG, as it further elaborates on the series’ convoluted yet equally interesting lore. The sneak peek showcases the two lead characters, Josh Hutcherson’s Mike and Elizabeth Lail’s Vanessa, still recovering from the events of the first movie and trying their best to adjust to a normal life.
However, Mike’s little sister, Piper Rubio’s Abby, is still having difficulties letting go of her animatronic friends. She is still grappling with the loss of her “friends” when she receives a mysterious message from them, inviting her to go look for and save them. This kicks off another horrifying adventure that might see the return of Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy, for better or worse. This film also showcases the titular robots out and about from their usual restaurant stomping grounds.
It has been confirmed that Emma Tammi will return to the director’s chair, which essentially guarantees that we’ll see a bunch of FNAF Easter eggs, much like the first film did. Alongside the aforementioned trio of cast members, this entry will feature some brand new faces, such as Mckenna Grace, Wayne Knight, Freddy Carter, and Skeet Ulrich. Naturally, being the big bad of the entire franchise, Matthew Lillard has been confirmed to reprise his role as William Afton.
If you’re familiar with the games, you should already be familiar with the story by now. If you’re not but would still like to avoid spoilers, you’ll have to sit tight and wait for the film’s full release later this year on 5th December.
Sources: USA Today, Comic Book Movie, Empire
