It: Welcome to Derry – Will The Shining’s Dick Hallorann appear in the prequel? Star Chris Chalk teases return 

The evil town of Derry is rising again with It: Welcome to Derry, the terrifying prequel to Andy Muschietti’s It films.

Taking place in 1962, nearly 30 years before the first Losers Club encounter with Pennywise, the series will expand on Stephen King’s horror mythology by exploring the clown’s strange beginnings.

Introducing new characters, lore, and a story told in reverse, the series on HBO Max is intended to fill in gaps left by the movies, as an exploration of how the history of Derry and the existence of Pennywise are related. As viewers get ready to head back to one of King’s most chilling locales with It: Welcome to Derry, they’ll also see a familiar face from another of the author’s best-known works.

Will The Shining’s Dick Hallorann appear in It: Welcome to Derry?

Pennywise won’t be the only famous name prowling the streets of Derry. The Shining’s Dick Hallorann is back, and this time the role is played by Chris Chalk. Talking about his arc, Chalk teased a very different flavour of the Overlook Hotel chef we are all familiar with. He teased:

“Dick is in Derry because Dick f---d up. And that's the truth. You'll see the show and you'll get that.”

Hallorann is nothing like the calm and peaceful teacher in The Shining and Doctor Sleep. He added:

“Dick thinks all of these people are corny, he doesn't respect a single one of them, and that's the journey of Dick. The Dick you know is super nice.... Good luck with this Dick.”

It: Welcome to Derry will trace the origins of Pennywise and explore the buried narratives that have shaped Derry’s curse. When it debuts on October 26 on HBO Max, It: Welcome to Derry is coming not just as a prequel, but as a chilling descent into the origins of evil itself. This interworld crossover between King’s worlds will not only thrill long-time fans but also add new dimensions to one of horror’s most beloved supporting characters.

The actor also revealed that this version of Hallorann in It: Welcome to Derry would delve into the character's inner conflict and fragility.

“The thing that Dick fears is himself. You're gonna meet him 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.”

Executive producer Barbara Muschietti said that Hallorann does appear in King’s original It novel and that his psychic power, or shine, may be what is needed to explain Pennywise’s terrifying growth.

"Of course, there’s more to it. There’s a reason and a secret why we’re telling the story backward. I can't tell you now. I guess you have to see the show."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Andy Muschietti and his producing partners developed It: Welcome to Derry as a prequel and also as an exploration of questions not answered in the novel. At the NYCC panel, Muschietti talked about the project as:

“A hidden story… told backward” with a “final conclusion - the events in which It becomes Pennywise.”

The series was born out of Muschietti’s discussions with Bill Skarsgård while filming It: Chapter Two. The pair began to wonder about the shape-shifting entity’s origins. Having reread the book, Muschietti was influenced by Mike Hanlon’s interludes, which tell the story of Derry’s nefarious past through a series of disjointed narratives.

“Stephen King creates all these enigmas and big question marks to create tension. But for me, it was like, what if this is a blueprint for a different story?"

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Co-showrunner Jason Fuchs noted that the series seeks to answer a central mystery: why Pennywise, an interdimensional being of light, keeps returning to Derry and why it continues to take the form of a clown.

The series is also a more diverse It franchise detour, featuring characters of different walks of life who didn’t make it into King’s big-screen adaptations. Set within the politically charged climate of America in the year 1962, It: Welcome to Derry melds the tensions of the era with supernatural dread and fear as both subject and object.

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