Dick Hallorann’s Deserves A Spinoff After It: Welcome To Derry’s Ending

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The conclusion of ‘It: Welcome to Derry’ strongly suggests that a spin-off show focusing on the town of Derry should be made quickly.

As a critic, I’m keeping a close eye on It: Welcome to Derry. The first season was a massive hit for HBO, so a second season feels almost guaranteed. But honestly, just another season isn’t enough. To really build this franchise, we need a spin-off series focused on a single, fascinating character. It’s a smart way to keep the Pennywise universe alive and explore some of the more compelling backstories.

This character was often overlooked in past versions of Stephen King’s stories, but It: Welcome to Derry finally gave him a compelling storyline and set up a great opportunity for his own series.

A Dick Hallorann Spinoff Should Be A No-Brainer After It: Welcome To Derry’s Ending

Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is widely considered a horror masterpiece, but many debate how well it captures the spirit of Stephen King’s novel. A major criticism is that the film significantly weakened the character of Dick Hallorann. Thankfully, It: Welcome to Derry addressed this by giving Hallorann a compelling and well-developed backstory.

As a film fan, I really appreciated how It: Welcome to Derry didn’t just show us a straightforward hero. Instead, it took the time to explore his journey – how he went from being a complicated, flawed character to ultimately becoming one of the town’s biggest protectors. It was a really compelling arc to watch.

Just before the story of It: Welcome to Derry concludes, Hallorann reveals he’s moving to London to work as a hotel cook. Considering he eventually finds work at the Overlook Hotel in Colorado and meets the Gradys and Torrances, this feels like a deliberate foreshadowing of his story in The Shining.

With Dick Hallorann gaining popularity thanks to the HBO series of IT, a spin-off focusing on his story would be a huge win for fans and a missed chance if it doesn’t happen.

Chris Chalk delivers a fantastic performance, really showing his character’s vulnerabilities and complex nature, and it would be wonderful to see him reprise the role. It’s ironic—and amusing—that when asked to contact him if anything goes wrong, Hallorann confidently asks, “How much trouble could a hotel possibly be?” Given everything that awaits him at the Overlook Hotel, it would be captivating to witness his reactions to the unfolding supernatural events.

The Potential Dick Hallorann Spinoff Already Has The Perfect Story (From Mike Flanagan)

Mike Flanagan’s sequel to The Shining, called Doctor Sleep, expanded the role of the character Dick Hallorann significantly compared to Stanley Kubrick’s film. Had Doctor Sleep been a box office success, Flanagan had plans for a spin-off series focusing on Hallorann. According to Flanagan, as he shared with Script Apart, this spin-off would have begun with Hallorann working in the Overlook Hotel’s kitchen, getting everything ready for the new winter caretaker.

Going back to Room 237 really messed me up, honestly. It instantly brought back all those terrible memories of Derry and those first, terrifying times I came face-to-face with Pennywise. It was like reliving the nightmare all over again.

The ending really threw me for a loop. Instead of the expected meeting between Hallorann and the Torrances, we see him greeting the Gradys at the Overlook. It got me thinking – a spin-off focusing on Dick Hallorann, maybe picking up after the first season of It: Welcome to Derry, could be fantastic. Mike Flanagan had a great idea about how Pennywise’s influence still haunts Hallorann, and exploring that as he faces new horrors at the Overlook would be seriously compelling. It feels like there’s a lot of story left to tell with that character.

The planned spin-off of It: Welcome to Derry might also explore the past, showing us Hallorann’s childhood and how he first dealt with his psychic abilities – his “shining.” It could be similar to The Sixth Sense, focusing on Hallorann’s experience of seeing ghosts and the challenges that came with it, possibly with help from his grandmother.

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2025-12-15 13:32