HBO Max’s It: Welcome to Derry will share links to other Stephen King classics, including The Shining and The Shawshank Redemption. During a panel at New York Comic-Con, creator Andy Muschietti confirmed the connection to King’s iconic stories.
Andy Muschietti confirms It: Welcome to Derry’s connections to two Stephen King adaptations
At New York Comic-Con on October 9, It: Welcome to Derry creators Andy and Barbara Muschietti revealed that the series will share unexpected ties with Stephen King’s classics The Shining and The Shawshank Redemption. Speaking with CBR, the Muschiettis opened up about the creative inspirations behind the prequel and how it expands the larger Stephen King universe.
Andy Muschietti confirmed that the series includes direct links to The Shining, noting that Dick Halloran plays a key role. He said, “We can say, like Dick Halloran is you know, we all know from the book, or people that read the book, that Dick Halloran was in the Black Spot.”
Andy also expressed admiration for the actor who takes on the role of Dick Halloran. Muschietti said, “Chris Chalk, who plays Dick Halloran, did an incredible job.” He added that “the Dick Halloran character is an important character in our series.”
He also teased a link to The Shawshank Redemption, referencing a storyline involving a wrongly accused man sent to Shawshank Prison. Andy said, “Shawshank is like, there’s a character who is sent to prison, wrongfully accused, of course, in this world, and he is sent to Shawshank. Does he arrive to Shawshank?”
He noted that if the character had arrived there, he might have crossed paths with Andy Dufresne and Red. However, the filmmaker teased, “But the question is does he arrive to Shawshank?”
Premiering on October 26, It: Welcome to Derry takes place in 1962. It explores the origins of Pennywise’s terror and the chilling events before the events of the first It film.
