‘Stranger Things: The First Shadow’ Prequel Play Will Hit the Stage This Year

The First Shadow, a stage play based on Netflix’s Stranger Things, will open in London’s Phoenix Theater later this year. 

According to the Hollywood Reporter, The First Shadow comes from an original story by series creators Matt and Ross Duffer, as well as writer/co-executive producer Kate Trefry, plus Jack Thorne (Enola Holmes). It will be written by Trefry and directed by Stephen Daldry (The Crown, Billy Elliot). 

“We are beyond excited about Stranger Things: The First Shadow. Collaborating with the brilliant Stephen Daldry has been nothing short of inspiring, and Kate Trefry has written a play that is at turns surprising, scary and heartfelt,” the Duffer Brothers said in a statement. “You will meet endearing new characters, as well as very familiar ones, on a journey into the past that sets the groundwork for the future of Stranger Things.” 

Netflix revealed the play will take place in Hawkins in 1959, with younger versions of Hopper (David Harbour), Joyce (Winona Ryder), and presumably Bob Newby (Sean Astin). There’s also a new student whose name Season 4 viewers will recognize (and fear): Henry Creel. 

“Hawkins, 1959: a regular town with regular worries. Young Jim Hopper’s car won’t start, Bob Newby’s sister won’t take his radio show seriously and Joyce Maldonado just wants to graduate and get the hell out of town,” the official description reads. “When new student Henry Creel arrives, his family finds that a fresh start isn’t so easy…and the shadows of the past have a very long reach. Brought to life by a multi-award-winning creative team, who take theatrical storytelling and stagecraft to a whole new dimension, this gripping new adventure will take you right back to the beginning of the Stranger Things story—and may hold the key to the end.”