By It: Welcome to Derry showrunners assert that incorporating The Shining’s Dick Hallorann into the Pennywise prequel was a straightforward decision – and that Stephen King himself was more than willing to consent.
“The focus was on remaining true to the novel. We aimed to utilize as much of the lore as seemed fitting. We kind of donned our Mike Hanlon personas and approached this similarly to how the character would. We became budding Derry historians,” Fuchs stated during an NYCC roundtable attended by GamesRadar+. “So, just as Mike is perched in the attic of the library, we are metaphorically in the writer’s room asking, ‘What fragments of these interludes in the book that hint at Derry history cloaked in enigma can we begin to explore?'”
“He’s quite distinct from the Dick Hallorann we recognize from The Shining, or certainly from Doctor Sleep,” Fuchs clarifies. “So it was all about uncovering those small gems hidden within the text and allowing the narrative and character to drive it. For example, if a character is going to be taken off to prison – I suppose you’d notice that in the trailer. It promptly raised the question, well, ‘What’s the closest prison? Shawshank.’ It made sense.”
“Yeah, everything he mentioned,” Kane notes. “The enjoyable aspect of working in television rather than film is you can dive much deeper into character development. And the exciting element of adapting a character like Dick Hallorann from The Shining [or] the Dick Hallorann we are familiar with from Doctor Sleep – He serves much more as a mentor. He plays a larger role in supporting Danny Torrance’s journey through the Overlook.”
It is notable that It has a page count of 1,181, depending on the edition you are reading. The history of Derry is woven into the book’s interludes, containing all of Mike’s meticulous and thorough research. Thus, while there are numerous new characters crafted specifically for the series, Fuchs and Kane were diligent in constructing the prequel from the novel before venturing into entirely new territory.
Welcome to Derry was created by Andy Muschietti, who helmed It and It: Chapter Two, alongside his producing partner Barbara, as well as Fuchs. The inaugural season is set in 1962, with intended subsequent seasons set in 1935 and 1908, respectively.
“In our series, Dick Hallorann is only serving his own interests. He’s a significantly more self-centered individual,” Kane elaborates. “I suppose he’s aligned with General Shaw and the overarching scheme of the series, but he’s primarily focused on just that: escaping from people’s control and living on his own terms. He is a fun-loving guy. He lacks the fondness for children that he has in The Shining. He isn’t interested. However, we managed to transition him from this character we aren’t familiar with, this younger version who is entirely different from [his character in] The Shining, to a persona that is much more recognizable by the conclusion. We provided him with a comprehensive arc.
“I believe we crafted him into an even more multi-dimensional, well-rounded character under the attentive gaze of Uncle Stevie himself. He had to approve every outline, every script, ensuring we’re not divulging any confidential stories here. All with Stephen King’s endorsement. But we