The new series It: Welcome to Derry has incorporated Dick Hallorann, a key character from The Shining, as part of its storyline, a choice that showrunners described as obvious and fully endorsed by Stephen King himself. This crossover expands the shared universe within King’s works, blending elements of horror and mystery across his iconic novels. The show’s creators aimed to maintain fidelity to the original texts while exploring new narrative possibilities related to the town of Derry and its dark past.
Careful Exploration of Derry’s Hidden History
Showrunner Fuchs explained that their approach involved delving deeply into Derry’s history, much like the character Mike Hanlon does in the book. The team immersed themselves in the lore, acting as amateur historians, to uncover storyline threads from the source material’s interludes. These sections often reveal mysterious events and details about Derry not central to the main plot but rich in narrative potential.
“It was all about staying authentic to the book. We wanted to use as much of the canon as felt appropriate. We sort of put on our Mike Hanlon hat and approached this the way the character did. We became amateur Derry historians,”
Fuchs said at a New York Comic Con roundtable hosted by GamesRadar+.
“And so, just as Mike is sitting in the attic of the library, we’re sort of sitting in the writer’s room going, ‘OK, what pieces of these interludes in the book that suggest elements of Derry history shrouded in mystery can we start to dig into?’”
Connecting Hallorann to the Town’s Dark Past
The references to Hallorann in the original novel, especially related to his presence at the bar known as The Black Spot, became a focal point for the creators. This bar was frequented by Black soldiers and tragically burned down by a white nationalist hate group, a grim but important piece of Derry’s history. The showrunners saw this as an organic opportunity to bring Hallorann into Derry’s story and examine where he stood in his life at that moment.
“And obviously, there’s references in the original book and some of the interludes to Dick Hallorann being present at The Black Spot. And so it just felt incredibly organic to go, ‘OK, that’s someone who would belong in Derry at this moment. But where is his story at that point? Where is he in his journey as a character?’”
In It: Welcome to Derry, Chris Chalk portrays a younger Hallorann, who encounters Leroy Hanlon (played by Jovan Adepo), grandfather to Mike Hanlon, during his Air Force service. In a concealed scene shown at NYCC, the meeting between Hallorann and Leroy takes an eerie turn with an unexpected visit from Pennywise, illustrating the pervasive threat even in the skies. This marks a significant crossover moment that intertwines the Kings’ universes in the television narrative.
Hallorann’s Role in Stephen King’s Expanding Universe
The character of Dick Hallorann originally appears in The Shining, where he is known for his psychic gift called “the shining” and his role as a mentor to Danny Torrance. The novel It explains that Hallorann used his abilities to rescue survivors after the attack on The Black Spot, including Will Hanlon, Mike Hanlon’s father. The new series reinterprets Hallorann’s younger self, distinct from previous incarnations portrayed by Scatman Crothers in The Shining and Carl Lumbly in Doctor Sleep.
“He’s very different than the Dick Hallorann we know from The Shining, or certainly from Doctor Sleep,”
Fuchs clarified.
“So it was all about finding those little nuggets buried in the text and letting story and character dictate it. So, for instance, if a character’s going to get carted off to prison – I guess you’d see that in the trailer. It was suddenly a question, well, ‘What’s the nearest prison? Shawshank.’ It made sense.”
“So we were never shoehorning things in. It was all from a place of what is the most effective, dramatic choice.”
The show is filled with Easter eggs referencing the broader Stephen King universe, making it rich ground for dedicated fans to explore hidden connections and lore.
“There are definitely, for Stephen King mega fan like myself, like Brad, this thing is chock full of Easter eggs, of references to a broader Stephen King universe. So I’m excited for fans to try to discover those.”
Character Development in the TV Format
Co-showrunner Kane emphasized the advantage of television in exploring characters in greater depth than film allows. Dick Hallorann’s role evolves within the series, showing facets never seen before, including a more self-interested side in his younger years. This differs significantly from the mentor figure known from earlier adaptations.
“The fun thing about working in TV as opposed to film is you can delve much more deeply into character. And the fun thing about taking a character like Dick Hallorann from The Shining [or] the Dick Hallorann that we’re familiar with from Shining from Doctor Sleep – He’s much more of a mentor character. He exists much more in service of Danny Torrance’s journey through the Overlook.”
“In our show, Dick Hallorann is in service of nothing but himself. He’s a much more selfish guy,”
Kane said.
“I guess he’s in service to General Shaw and the overarching plan of the show, but he’s looking to just do that: get out from under people’s thumbs and live his life. He is a good time guy. He doesn’t love kids like he does in The Shining. He’s not interested. But we were able to take him from that character that we don’t know, this younger character who is nothing like [his character in] The Shining, to a character that you recognize much more by the end. We gave him a full arc.”
“I feel like we made him an even more three-dimensional, rounded character under the watchful eye of Uncle Stevie himself. He had to approve every outline, every script, make sure we’re not telling tales out of school here. All with Stephen King’s approval. But we were able to really build out his character in a way that I don’t think we’ve seen before. And that was exciting to hear.”
Building the Prequel Around Stephen King’s Canon
It: Welcome to Derry is carefully constructed on the foundation of Stephen King’s original novel, which spans over 1,181 pages and contains extensive research by Mike Hanlon into the city’s darker mysteries. This layered approach allowed the creators to blend new fictional elements with the established canon, enriching the story’s depth and connection to other works by King.
Andy Muschietti, director of the It films, and his producing partner Barbara, alongside Fuchs, developed the series. The first season is set in 1962, while future plans include seasons focusing on 1935 and 1908, offering a rich temporal exploration of Derry’s history and its supernatural influences.
Implications of the It and The Shining Crossover
The merging of these two franchises signifies a broader strategy to integrate Stephen King’s novels into a cohesive universe, offering fans fresh perspectives on familiar characters and settings. By reimagining Hallorann’s story and incorporating the terrifying presence of Pennywise in unexpected settings, such as mid-air encounters, the show amplifies the suspense and complexity of the Kingverse storytelling.
As It: Welcome to Derry airs on HBO Max, viewers can expect a richly detailed investigation into the town’s shadowy past, layered with intense character study and numerous nods to fans familiar with King’s expansive work. This crossover not only broadens the narrative possibilities for future adaptations but also deepens the understanding of key figures like Dick Hallorann, bridging stories across decades and titles.
