Hawkins is coming to London’s West End, with a play that will serve as a prequel to Stranger Things. Stranger Things: The First Shadow will be set in 1959, and is based on an original story by the Duffer Brothers, Jack Thorne (The Cursed Child), and Kate Trefry. Young Jim Hopper, Young Joyce, and Young Henry Creel (Vecna) will all be characters in the play.
The play will be directed by Stephen Daldry – who was Oscar-nominated for Billy Elliott (2000), The Hours (2002), and The Reader (2008), and whose stage work includes the smash-hit musical Billy Elliott. The Stranger Things stage show will premiere in late 2023 (so before season 5 airs), and be “rooted in the mythology and world of the Netflix global phenomenon.”
The synopsis reads; “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. 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.”
Netflix also says; “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.” It looks as though this play could be important for the future of the sci-fi series.
The play coming out before the fifth and final season is aired could have major repercussions for the storyline of that season, and it could certainly provide some clues. If Henry Creel (AKA Vecna), played by Jamie Campbell Bower in the Netflix series, is a major part of the play – this will surely factor into the next season?
The Duffer Brothers say: “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.”
“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. We’re dying to tell you more about the story but won’t – it’s more fun to discover it for yourself. Can’t wait to see you nerds in London!”
While we wait to hear more about the play, find out more about where Stranger Things is filmed.