Key Takeaways

• Series Connection: It: Welcome to Derry connects to other Stephen King films.
• Character Inclusion: Dick Hallorann will play a significant role in the series.
• Crossover Elements: The series features ties to The Shawshank Redemption.
• Release Date: The show premieres on October 26, 2025, on HBO Max.

It: Welcome to Derry is the upcoming prequel series to the It movies, and it has just been confirmed that it will connect to much more than just Pennywise’s (Bill Skarsgård) story. Series creators Andy and Barbara Muschietti have revealed that the show will feature major crossover links to two other classic Stephen King films, The Shining and The Shawshank Redemption. The series will be set 27 years before the first It movie and will explore how Pennywise came to be.

In an interview with CBR at New York Comic-Con on October 9, the Muschiettis were asked whether Welcome to Derry would connect to any other King stories. They confirmed that Dick Hallorann (Scatman Crothers), the head chef at the Overlook Hotel and the man who explained “the Shining” ability to Danny (Danny Lloyd), will be a major character in the new series, and this time he will be portrayed by Chris Chalk. This version of Hallorann will work as a chef at The Black Spot, a location that plays an important part in King’s It novel. The character’s inclusion hints that the supernatural “Shining” power could be central to understanding Derry’s dark history and Pennywise’s origins.

The Muschiettis also revealed that the series connects to what many consider a masterpiece, The Shawshank Redemption. Fans spotted a prison bus marked with the Shawshank logo in the trailer, which many assumed was just a small Easter egg. But Andy confirmed that one of the show’s characters is wrongly accused and sent to Shawshank Prison. He explained that the timelines of The Shawshank Redemption and Welcome to Derry line up perfectly, so the imprisoned character could have met Red (Morgan Freeman) and Andy (Tim Robbins). But he teased the character’s fate by asking, “But the question is, does he arrive to Shawshank?”

Stephen King’s Shared Universe Existed Long Before ‘Welcome to Derry’

This isn’t the first time a King adaptation has been linked to another. In The Dark Tower, Jake Chambers (Tom Taylor) has “the Shine,” which connects directly to The Shining and Doctor Sleep. The film also features a picture of the Overlook Hotel and a copy of Misery’s Child, suggesting Misery exists in the same world. Dolores Claiborne even mentioned Shawshank Prison near the end of the narrative. Now, with Welcome to Derry making direct references to other King movies, it has just become the latest piece of a shared cinematic universe, where all these stories exist within the same timeline.

It: Welcome to Derry will be available to stream on HBO Max when it premieres on October 26, 2025. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates!