How Dick Hallorann Could Still Play a Key Role in Expanding the Stephen King Universe
While future seasons of IT: Welcome to Derry are expected to continue moving backward through time, the story of Dick Hallorann may be far from over. According to co-showrunner Jason Fuchs, the character’s journey still contains unexplored territory—one that could prove surprisingly rich for the broader Stephen King cinematic universe.
In a recent interview with ScreenRant, Fuchs reflected on the unresolved gap between Hallorann’s appearance in Welcome to Derry and his eventual role in The Shining, noting that there is a significant stretch of time left unaccounted for. “I find myself wondering what happened to Dick in between,” Fuchs said, pointing out that the series deliberately avoids locking the character into a fixed destination.
Notably, Hallorann never tells Leroy that he’s heading to a hotel in Colorado—the setting of The Shining. Instead, he mentions traveling to London. “So what are the chapters in Dick Hallorann’s life in between?” Fuchs added. “I don’t know if those questions will ever be answered, but even thinking about them is fascinating. And who knows?”
A Narrative Gap Hollywood Has Already Considered Exploring
As Fuchs suggests, there is roughly a 15-year gap between the end of IT: Welcome to Derry Season 1 and the beginning of The Shining. This is not uncharted territory in terms of creative interest. Director Mike Flanagan—who helmed Doctor Sleep (2019)—was previously attached to develop a standalone prequel centered on Dick Hallorann, intended to further expand the character’s backstory.
That project ultimately stalled following Doctor Sleep’s underwhelming box office performance, but the idea itself never lost traction creatively. Hallorann remains one of Stephen King’s most quietly significant recurring characters, appearing across multiple works and adaptations, often serving as a bridge between the supernatural and the human.
Two Creative Camps, One Expanding Universe
What makes the possibility of revisiting Hallorann especially compelling now is the broader landscape of Stephen King adaptations currently in motion. Both major creative forces shaping King’s screen universe remain active: Andy and Barbara Muschietti continue to expand the IT mythology through Welcome to Derry, while Flanagan has recently completed a Carrie miniseries and is actively developing The Dark Tower.
At the same time, Welcome to Derry has demonstrated that audience appetite for Pennywise—and the world surrounding him—remains strong. That sustained interest makes the idea of revisiting a fan-favorite character like Hallorann far less speculative than it once seemed.
A Return Without a Standalone Spin-Off
Even if a dedicated Hallorann project never materializes, Welcome to Derry itself may still provide an avenue for the character’s return. The Season 1 finale establishes that Pennywise experiences time in a non-linear fashion, opening the door for characters from different eras to reappear as the series continues to fill in historical gaps.
In that context, Hallorann’s story doesn’t need its own series to remain relevant. His past encounters with It—and the years between Derry and the Overlook—could resurface organically as part of the show’s larger exploration of memory, trauma, and cyclical evil.
Whether through a revived spin-off or a carefully placed return within Welcome to Derry, Dick Hallorann remains a character with untapped narrative potential. And in a universe built on echoes, legacies, and unfinished stories, that may be reason enough for Stephen King’s storytellers to come back to him once more.
