Stranger Things is getting a stage play titled ‘The First Shadow’ in late-2023 and will feature younger versions of Hopper, and Joyce.
Considering the popularity of Netflix’s Stranger Things series, it’s no surprise that the franchise is looking to expand into different mediums for content.
On February 28, a new Twitter page called Stranger Things on Stage shared a short teaser video that teased, “Netflix and Sonia Friedman Productions present; A New Story. Live on stage.”
Thankfully, fans of the hit franchise didn’t have to wait long before more details on the Stranger Things stage play were revealed – here is everything that fans need to know.
Stranger Things on stage ‘The First Shadow’ announced
Today, March 1, the Stranger Things Stage play was unveiled with the title ‘The First Shadow’, set to open in London in late 2023.
“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.”
The stage play was originally revealed to be in development back in July 2022, written by Sonia Friedman (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) and Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot).
“Brought to life by a multi-award-winning creative team, who take theatrical storytelling and stagecraft to a whole new dimension, 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.”
The stage play will be “set within the world and mythology of Stranger Things” and whilst a more specific launch date remains TBA, the current estimates are for November 6, 2023 – aka Stranger Things Day.
Fans can sign up for priority access to tickets via the official website.
Stranger Things anime spin-off in the works
In December 2022, it was also teased that a new Stranger Things anime spin-off series was in development.
Whilst details remain scarce, the leaks claim that the series will be around six hours long in total and will be the first ‘official’ spin-off title for the Stranger Things franchise:
“An encounter with the Upside Down evolves into a grand adventure for video game-loving twin brothers living on the outskirts of 1980s Tokyo.”
The announcement came on the heels of confirmation that Matt and Ross Duffer had formed Upside Down Pictures, a new production company that will expand the Stranger Things universe.
Co-CEO Ted Sarandos noted that the brothers “are all about the details — it’s no accident that ‘Stranger Things’ has pierced the zeitgeist to become the epic pop culture phenomenon it is today.”
“Stories that take place at that beautiful crossroads where the ordinary meets the extraordinary, where big spectacle co-exists with intimate character work, where heart wins out over cynicism.”
By Tom Llewellyn – [email protected]