Warning: Spoilers ahead for It: Welcome to Derry episode 2!
Dick Hallorann is already becoming a vital figure in It: Welcome to Derry, and his “gift” in the show have a significant link to Stephen King’s wider universe. Chris Chalk portrays Dick as part of Welcome to Derry‘s cast for season 1. The HBO series is a prequel to Andy Muschietti’s It movies, with the first season taking place in 1962.
Like the movies, Welcome to Derry is changing the It timeline a bit, but it’s also expanding on the characters and storylines previously mentioned in King’s 1986 novel. In fact, the show is embracing the shared universe created by King in several ways, including the incorporation of a special character who has appeared in several of King’s books.
The Shining’s Dick Hallorann Appears In It: Welcome To Derry (& Stephen King’s It Book)
Chris Chalk’s Dick Hallorann can be seen a few times in It: Welcome to Derry episode 1, but the character gets more focus in episode 2. While the actor is new to the It franchise, the character has a deep history in the Stephen King universe. Dick made his character debut in Stephen King’s 1977 novel The Shining, serving as the Head Chef at the Overlook Hotel, where he encountered the Torrance family.
Dick ended up bonding with young Danny Torrance over their shared “shining” abilities. When ghostly forces convinced Jack to go after his family, it was Dick who ended up rescuing Danny and Jack’s wife, Wendy. However, in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, Dick was killed by Jack. The character of Dick Hallorann later reappeared in The Shining sequel book, Doctor Sleep, confirming that Dick acted as a mentor for Danny and still communicated with him following his death.
Dick Hallorann’s Gifts In It: Welcome To Derry Explained
As confirmed in The Shining, Dick Hallorann has psychic abilities in the form of telepathy and clairvoyance. In It: Welcome to Derry, Dick works at the military base in Derry, where he can be seen driving around key personnel. Episode 2 sheds more light on his role, revealing that he’s a key figure in Operation Precept, which is a secret military program looking to uncover a powerful force within Derry that could be used to end the Cold War.
The military is using Dick and his “shining” powers to dig up beacons connected to the powerful force in the hopes of leading to its source, which is the entity at the center of King’s It story. Though Dick’s role in Operation Precept gives him special privileges, patience is wearing thin with his superiors until the end of It: Welcome to Derry episode 2, when his powers lead to the uncovering of an old car linked to the Bradley gang.
How Dick Hallorann Originally Ended Up In Derry
Though Dick Hallorann’s role in It: Welcome to Derry might be a surprise to some, the character actually appeared in Stephen King’s It novel. He wasn’t featured in the story’s main timeline, but Dick was mentioned when the book jumped into some of Derry’s dark history. The character was said to be an Army cook who notably co-founded The Black Spot before it was burned down in a racial attack that may have involved Pennywise.
It: Welcome to Derry season 1 will likely reveal more details about how Dick made his way to Derry, but for now, the show seems to be leading up to the events of The Black Spot fire. The location isn’t in the show just yet, but that could change as season 1 continues now that Dick has been in Derry for over four months. In the original story, Dick used his psychic gifts to save people from the fire, including Mike Hanlon’s father, Will.
With the timeline changes and Dick working directly with Leroy Hanlon at the military base, It: Welcome to Derry will presumably alter some character details. Granted, we can assume that this version of Dick in 1962 will leave Derry after The Black Spot fire and end up at Overlook Hotel by the late ’80s.
New episodes of It: Welcome to Derry release Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.
- Release Date
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October 26, 2025
- Network
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HBO
- Directors
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Andy Muschietti
