Paige Stegina| A&E Editor
Since 2016, Stranger Things has become one of the most successful Netflix original shows, capturing audiences with 1980’s nostalgia and science fiction. The show has won twelve Emmy Awards for music, costuming, and casting. Now the story of the show will find its way to London’s West End with the play, Stranger Things: The First Shadow.
The production is written by Kate Trefry, a writer and producer on the show and will be directed by Stephen Daldry. Daldry, who has worked on The Crown, is reportedly the one who approached the creators of the show, Matt and Ross Duffer, with the idea of bringing a new addition to the story with a play. Instead of the time period viewers are used to in the show, the play will be a prequel taking place in 1959. The play is expected to follow both new and familiar faces, including Hopper, Joyce, and Bob in their younger high school years. It will also follower the newcomer to town, Henry Creel, who eventually becomes the villain Vecna in the show. Although the play will take place in the Stranger Things universe, it will be a standalone addition to the story. Even with it being an independent addition to the original show, writers are ensuring that all the storylines will line up, especially while the show's fifth season is still in production. The play will combine the lighthearted nature as well as the darkness expected in the Stranger Things universe and the town of Hawkins, Indiana.
Opening night for the play will be in December of this year. It appears that it will not be adapted for television, with the creators saying the story is better suited for a stage than the screen. Nonetheless, this new addition to the Stranger Things universe is certainly one to look out for.