Get ready, because the prequel for Stranger Things is almost … and it’s going to be a play! Keep reading for everything we know of the strange stage production called Stranger Things: The First Shadow.
Is ‘Stranger Things’ Being Made Into a Play?
Not exactly. A Stranger Things prequel will be made into a play that will debut at the Phoenix Theatre in London, beginning in November 17, 2023. Titled Stranger Things: The First Shadow, the show will serve as Netflix’s first ever live stage production.
The trailer for the play dropped on July 5, 2023. Watch here.
‘Stranger Things: The First Shadow’ Prequel Plot
Set in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, Stranger Things: The First Shadow takes place in 1959, two decades before the events of the show, which is set between 1983 and 1986.
“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,” reads an official synopsis. “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.”
Stranger Things writer Kate Trefry is penning the play based on an original story by Stranger Things creators, the Duffer Brothers, and His Dark Materials scribe Jack Thorne.
“Collaborating with the brilliant [playwright] Stephen Daldry has been nothing short of inspiring, and Kate Trefry has written a play that is at turns surprising, scary, and heartfelt,” said the Duffer Brothers 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.”
“We’re dying to tell you more about the story but won’t — it’s more fun to discover it for yourself,” Ross and Matt Duffer added. “Can’t wait to see you nerds in London!”
Who Is Starring In ‘Stranger Things: The First Shadow’ Play?
The production will star Isabella Pappas (Joyce Maldonado), Louis McCartney (Henry Creel), Shane Attwooll (Chief Hopper), Chase Brown (Lonnie Byers), Christopher Buckley (Bob Newby), Ammar Duffus (Charles Sinclair), Gilles Geary (Ted Wheeler), Michael Jibson (Victor Creel), Oscar Lloyd (James Hopper, Jr.), Calum Ross (Walter Henderson), Maisie Norma Seaton (Claudia Henderson), Patrick Vaill (Dr. Brenner), Lauren Ward (Virginia Creel) and Ella Karuna Williams (Patty Newby).
Will ‘Stranger Things: The First Shadow’ Connect to Season 5?
According to the official synopsis, the Phoenix Theatre production takes the audience “right back to the beginning of the Stranger Things story,” teasing that the show “may hold the key” to the Netflix franchise’s conclusion.
ICYMI, season 5 of Stranger Things is set to start filming in May 2023, and will serve as the last season of the series.
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