HBO's It: Welcome To Derry Has A Link To Stephen King's The Shining

As a prequel to 2017's "It" and 2019's "It Chapter Two," HBO's "It: Welcome to Derry" fills in a lot of gaps left by the two movies. The show will be crucial viewing for fans of Stephen King's novels as it's set to delve deeper into the "macroverse" and the way in which the author's stories are all interconnected. One example is the character of Dick Hallorann, who's best known as the head chef of the Overlook Hotel in "The Shining" but who has roots in Derry. In the 1962-set series, he's played by Chris Chalk, who previously portrayed a young Lucius Fox in Fox's "Gotham" and Paul Drake in HBO's short-lived "Perry Mason" origin series.

What's Dick Hallorann doing in Derry? Well, any real fan will surely know that the character is mentioned in the original "It" novel and it seems for Chalk, explaining as much has become a bit of a chore. The actor spoke at a New York Comic Con panel (via Entertainment Weekly) where he said, "When people ask that question I go, 'You didn't read the book! You're not a big fan, are you?'"

The character of Hallorann originated in King's 1977 novel "The Shining," wherein he forms a bond with the young Danny Torrance due to their shared telepathic abilities. He was famously played by Scatman Crothers in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 adaptation of the book, where he took on a similar mentor role. But in "It," which was released in 1986, we learn that Hallorann was a member of the Derry community during the time in which "Welcome to Derry" is set. As such, he's actually a fairly big part of the new series, which it seems will present a much different version of Hallorann than fans have seen previously.

"Welcome to Derry" is overseen by Andy and Barbara Muschietti, who were responsible for the two "It" films. With their new show, the pair were eager to expand upon the story they previously told. As Andy told SFX Magazine, "What I want the audience to feel is that everything they know about It is just the tip of the iceberg." That means we'll be getting more of an insight into the larger Stephen King-verse, but we'll also see how those stories are connected on a more local level, as evidenced by Dick Hallorann's inclusion.

The character has been portrayed by several actors over the years. In ABC's 1997 "The Shining" miniseries, Hallorann was played Melvin Van Peebles, while Carl Lumbly portrayed the character's ghost in the 2019 "Doctor Sleep" adaptation (which tried to reconcile the conflicting views of Kubrick and King). The HBO show will therefore give us our fourth on-screen Hallorann. As fans of the original "It" will know, the character became part of Derry's history when he co-founded the town's Black Spot bar. After the bar is burned down by a white supremacist group, Hallorann used his Shining ability to rescue survivors, including Will Hanlon, father of Mike Hanlon, the latter of whom would become one of the members of The Loser's Club in "It."

Prior to the arrival of "Welcome to Derry," we learned that this Black Spot sequence would actually be adapted as part of the new series. That makes sense given the show's focus on racial tensions in Derry, as showcased in the "Welcome to Derry" trailer. But it also signaled that Hallorann would be a prominent part of the new series, and now we know more about what to expect with Chalk's portrayal.

During the NYCC panel, Chris Chalk provided more of an insight into how his younger version of Dick Hallorann differs from the portrayals we've seen thus far. "Welcome to Derry" will present a younger, more rough-around-the-edges version of the character, with Chalk saying, "Dick thinks all of these [Derry residents] are corny. He doesn't respect a single one of them, and that's the journey of Dick." As Chalk went on to say, "The Dick you know is super nice ... Good luck with this Dick."

What exactly Hallorann is doing in Derry prior to co-founding the Black Spot isn't entirely clear, but Chalk addressed that question, too: "Dick is in Derry because Dick f****d up, and that's the truth. You'll see the show and you'll get that." According to the actor, this version of Hallorann is dealing with some internal struggles and is a long way from the more nurturing figure who guided Danny Torrance through his Overlook Hotel ordeal in "The Shining." As Chalk put it, this younger Hallorann is "at a stage when he has a different relationship with his internal self, with his spiritual world, and his biggest fear is himself and losing control."

With fear being such an integral theme to "It," it makes sense for Hallorann to be such a big part of the upcoming series, which interrogates that theme both through Pennywise (played by a returning Bill Skarsgard) but also through the racial tensions in Derry and local residents using fear as an intimidation tactic. Hallorann represents an ideal entry point for exploring these ideas. In that sense, it would be more surprising if the Muschiettis left him out of the prequel series.

The premiere episode hits HBO on October 26, 2025.