How IT: Welcome to Derry Doubles as a Surprise Prequel to The Shining

[Warning: The following contains spoilers for Episode 2 of IT: Welcome to Derry, "The Thing in the Dark."]

As a direct prequel to Stephen King's IT, Welcome to Derry was always going to be divisive. Is this really the kind of story that requires an expanded universe? Many fans would say no.

It's worth remembering, however, that King himself is a big fan of background lore. In a novel that otherwise feels like supernatural horror, IT's titular villain turns out to be an alien with an extensive backstory involving an asteroid crash and a fictional Native American tribe. Stephen King actually loves to explain — as evidenced by Doctor Sleep, his 2013 sequel to The Shining, which develops from a ghost story into a fantasy narrative about a secret subculture of telepaths. It's not surprising that he signed off on Welcome to Derry, which functions as a crossover prequel to both IT and (to some viewers' surprise) The Shining.

The show's crossover status hinges on Dick Hallorann, a character who previously appeared in The Shining and Doctor Sleep, and was name-checked as the founder of a local Derry bar in IT. Played by Scatman Crothers in the Stanley Kubrick movie, he's best known as the chef at The Shining's Overlook Hotel — a man who shares the same psychic powers (or "shine") as the protagonist's young son, Danny Torrance. 

Decades before this, Welcome to Derry introduces Dick Hallorann (Chris Chalk) as an airman stationed at Derry's Air Force base, a shady location with Area 51 vibes. In Episode 2, we see him go for a drink with a couple of friends, in a scene that highlights the town's 1960s-era racial tensions. Dick and his friends are Black, and they don't seem entirely welcome among the bar's white clientele, foreshadowing Dick's future decision to open his own bar. 

We soon realize that Dick is no ordinary airman. Already establishing himself as one of the most interesting actors in the show, Chris Chalk's performance is quiet, observant, and more than a little cynical. There's also a visible divide between him and his drinking buddies. When they gripe about work, he tells them that he can't talk about his job, joking that he's here on a "super secret spy mission" — a claim that basically turns out to be true. Apparently, the Air Force is well aware of his abilities, and they've recruited him to track down the entity we know as "It." Keen to gain any advantage during the Cold War, the U.S. government wants to capture It and use it as a weapon. 

Welcome to Derry's unexpected military storyline

We tend to think of It as Pennywise the Clown, but technically it's more like a demonic embodiment of pure fear. Targeting its victims with nightmarish hallucinations, It emerges every 27 years to terrorize and consume a new group of children — as per the events of both IT and Welcome to Derry.

As viewers, we understand that the Air Force's plan is a catastrophic act of hubris. You can't capture or control It, and you certainly can't deploy it as a weapon. However, the military has already spent a lot of time and manpower on this mission, and at the end of Episode 2, they seemingly strike gold. At a dig site on the outskirts of Derry, they find a car full of skeletons: a supernatural beacon that will help Dick to pinpoint the entity's location.

The other half of this mission involves Major Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo), who has a more subtle superpower. Thanks to a head injury he incurred during the Korean War, he's lost the ability to feel fear. In theory, this renders him immune to It, making him uniquely qualified to fight and contain It when the time comes.

What this means for Dick Hallorann's future

While Welcome to Derry's child characters star in a more conventional horror story, this Air Force subplot pivots toward military sci-fi. Is this a good fit for a joint prequel to IT and The Shining? Honestly, that depends on whether you're the kind of Stephen King fan who enjoyed Doctor Sleep.

Coupled with Leroy Hanlon (the grandfather of Mike Hanlon, one of the main characters in IT), Dick Hallorann exemplifies the role of Welcome to Derry as a franchise-style prequel, building the backstory of a shared universe. Judging by the appearance of a Shawshank Prison bus in the trailers, the show may even connect to Stephen King's The Shawshank Redemption later on.

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Stephen King's back catalog includes a ton of books about superpowered characters, ranging from telepaths (Dreamcatcher; The Shining), mediums (The Dead Zone) and telekinetics (Carrie), to people with more nebulous abilities (Firestarter; The Institute). So while Dick Hallorann's military role is a departure from his part in The Shining, he still represents a classic Stephen King archetype. He's also an obvious fit for Welcome to Derry's prequel timeline, because we already know that he spent some time in Derry — a backstory that canonically overlaps with Mike Hanlon's father, Will, another character who shows up in Episode 2. 

At this point in his life, Dick doesn't seem particularly knowledgeable about his powers, but one day he'll gain the wisdom to act as a mentor to The Shining's Danny Torrance. In that sense, Welcome to Derry may become Dick Hallorann's origin story. His experiences in Derry will undoubtedly influence his personal attitude to the supernatural — and we know that in later life, he'll no longer be working for the military. Make of that what you will. 

IT: Welcome to Derry airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.