Stranger Things: The First Shadow is set to bring the Upside Down to London's West End. A Stranger Things prequel stage play is being developed for release later this year.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow is set to explore the backstory of Hawkins, Indiana. Though Stranger Things audiences are most familiar with Hawkins in the 1980s, the town was a hotbed of strange occurrences for many decades. As far back as the 1950s, the town was home to a secret government operation in which psychic children were kidnapped and forced to develop their psionic abilities. Though glimpses of this era have been seen in the series, this will be the first media to focus on the program's early years.
The Stranger Things play is set to open in Phoenix Theater once the current run of A Streetcar Named Desire (starring Paul Mescal) ends in April of 2023. The script is written by Stranger Things writer Kate Trefry, with a story by the Duffer Brothers and well-known scribe Jack Thorne. “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. “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.” A short teaser was also released alongside the announcement.
The story will feature plenty of familiar faces. Jamie Campbell-Bower's Vecna is a big part of the story, as part of the plot involves his life as Henry Creel. Shortly after moving to Hawkins for a fresh start, Henry and his family will find that they can't leave behind their problems so easily. Meanwhile, Jim Hopper (David Harbour in the series) is struggling with a car that won't start, Bob Newby's (Sean Astin in the series) sister won't take his radio show seriously, and Joyce - then Joyce Maldonado (Winona Ryder in the series) - wants to graduate high school and leave town.
This isn't the first time Thorne will be involved with adapting a major franchise to the stage. His most well-known work is arguably Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a sequel about Harry Potter's son. That play is somewhat controversial within the fandom, so hopefully, The First Shadow escapes that fate. The Duffer Brothers are seemingly highly involved in the creative process, so there's a decent chance the play ends up canonized in Stranger Things season 5, and the source material is respected.
There are several interesting tidbits about the play. For one, Joyce Byers' past has been a source of speculation for fans, and it looks like her history will finally be explored. While some have speculated that Joyce had some unbeknownst-to-her involvement with the government program that produced Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) - and that this involvement led to Will's (Noah Schnapp) conception - it's likely that the truth of the matter will finally be exposed.
Stranger Things seasons 1-4 are now available on Netflix.
