After IT: Welcome to Derry, a Scrapped Stephen King Movie Needs to Be Revived by WB As Soon as Possible

IT: Welcome to Derry has done far more than merely set the stage for the cinematic battles directed by Andy Muschietti. The prequel series has effectively functioned as a narrative glue for the wider Stephen King multiverse, weaving in nods to properties such as The Shawshank Redemption to flesh out the fictional history of Maine. The most significant connective tissue in the series is the prominent role of Dick Hallorann (Chris Chalk). IT: Welcome to Derry grants audiences a detailed look at the character’s early life, exploring his fateful encounter with the creature known as Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) and his dangerous struggle to understand his own psychic abilities. By depicting Hallorann decades before he would mentor Danny Torrance in The Shining, the series adds a tragic weight to his history that demands further exploration.

Warning: Spoilers below for IT: Welcome to Derry season finale

The success of Halloran’s storyline is largely due to the magnetic performance of Chris Chalk. He provides a nuanced interpretation of the character, distinguishing his version from the iconic portrayal by Scatman Crothers while honoring the legacy of the role. Chalk captures the isolation of a man burdened by the Shine, showing the physical and emotional toll that the ability extracts. The first season concludes with Hallorann leaving the Air Force and making the life-altering decision to move to London to work in a hotel. This choice places him on the trajectory that will inevitably lead him to the Overlook Hotel, leaving a decades-long gap in his biography that fans are eager to see filled. Fortunately, a blueprint for this exact story already exists, and the success of the series suggests that Warner Bros. should resurrect the project immediately.

Mike Flanagan Almost Made a Dick Halloran Prequel Movie

Dick Hallorann almost received his own standalone film courtesy of modern horror master Mike Flanagan. Following his work on Doctor Sleep, the director pitched a prequel film titled Hallorann that would have focused entirely on the character’s younger years. Flanagan revealed that the movie was designed to open with an older Dick Hallorann, played by Carl Lumbly, reflecting on his past before diving into a story about his youth. The narrative was intended to be a psychological horror film that explored the experience of being a Black man with the Shine in 20th-century America. Crucially, Flanagan noted that his script included Hallorann having an encounter with Pennywise as a young man, a concept that IT: Welcome to Derry has now validated as a core part of the canon.

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“I had a great thing for Dick Hallorann movie, was so excited about, which is him as a young man starting in Derry and had a little overlap with IT,” Flanagan said.  “Because in the canon, little Richie Halloran has an encounter with Pennywise as a young man. Then it was gonna be this whole other thing where he joins the army and ends up trying to work in law enforcement in New Orleans in a heavily segregated police department and is up against a kind of a cousin to the True Knot. A killer who is specifically targeting people who shine, and this big battle there. He would win the battle but lose the war and lose the people that he cared about, and ended up opting for a quieter life away from all of it and taking this job, making meals at this hotel in Colorado.”

The project was ultimately scrapped due to the disappointing box office performance of Doctor Sleep, but the landscape has changed significantly. The critical and commercial embrace of IT: Welcome to Derry proves there is a ravenous appetite for stories that expand the mythology of King’s most famous works. In addition, the television series has successfully laid the groundwork that Flanagan wanted to explore, introducing a younger version of Hallorann who has already faced cosmic horror. Warner Bros. now has the opportunity to capitalize on this momentum by reviving Flanagan’s concept, potentially adapting it to star Chris Chalk or using it as the bridge between the series and the films. To leave such a compelling narrative on the shelf when the audience has already bought into the premise would be a wasted opportunity.

All episodes of IT: Welcome to Derry Season 1 are now available to stream on HBO Max.

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