Following the conclusion of Netflix’s hit sci-fi Stranger Things this past New Year’s Eve, the streamer has announced fans of the series have more to look forward to as the hit Broadway play Stranger Things: The First Shadow will be making its way to Netflix in the near future.
Currently on stage in New York, producers have cancelled this week’s performances of the play so it can be filmed with the original Broadway cast featuring Louise McCartney as Henry Creel, the future One/Vecna, Alex Breaux as Dr. Brenner, Alison Jaye as Joyce Maldonado, Burke Swanson as James Hopper Jr., T.R. Knight as Victor Creel, Rosie Benton as Virginia Creel, Lia Christina as Alice Creel, Gabrielle Nevaeh as Patty Newby and Juan Carlos as Bob Newby.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow is a prequel to the series, focusing on the young Henry Creel and how he came to have the powers that set him on his path to meeting the Mind Flayer and becoming Vecna. Stranger Things creators the Duffer Brothers confirmed the play is canon to the series’ mythology and hinted at some of the play’s events in the final season. Vecna’s actor Jamie Campbell Bower even reprised his role as Henry during the closing moments of the show for a one-night surprise to the audience a few weeks before the series finale premiered on Netflix.
One of the main sources of criticism among fans for the final season was how certain things regarding the Upside Down, Vecna’s origins and the nature of Henry’s memories weren’t fully explained as they were part of the play, leaving out crucial information for those who had not seen the play. Now that the play will be recorded and brought to Netflix, hopefully it will fill in some of the gaps in the final episodes.
There is not a release window for The First Shadow, but this is not the only continuation of Stranger Things as Netflix will release the animated series Stranger Things: Tales from ’85, set in between the second and third seasons of the flagship show. The spin-off will premiere on April 23rd and you can watch the trailer here.
In 1959 Hawkins, Indiana, the Creel family seeks a fresh start, especially their teenage son Henry, who is eager to escape his troubled past. Initially, things go well—he finds friendship and joins the school play. But when a wave of shocking crimes strikes the town, Henry is forced to confront a terrifying truth: is there something inside him that connects him to the horrors unfolding around him? As this thrilling mystery races forward, shadows of the past are unleashed, relationships are tested, and the town of Hawkins faces the ultimate question: can the power of friendship outshine the darkness within?
