Credit: NetflixIt’s a pretty frustrating time to be a Stranger Things fan. While Season 5, which is now officially in production, continues to release morsels of information, a release window for the fifth and final entry in the long-running sci-fi Netflix series is still nowhere in sight.
We might have the luxury of rewatching the first four seasons as we wait, along with other mediums of storytelling within the franchise including new comic books, novels, and virtual reality games, but we’re all desperate to find out how it will all go down for Hawkins and our favorite Stranger Things characters (although deep down, we all know which three characters are likely to die).
Related: ‘Stranger Things’ May Have Revealed Max’s Fate in Season 5
The most worthwhile new addition to the franchise is the WhatsOnStage Award-winning Stranger Things: The First Shadow (2023), which is produced by Sonia Friedman, directed by Stephen Daldry, and written by Kate Trefry, based on an original story by the Duffer brothers, Jack Thorne, and Trefry.
Taking place in the ’50s, the West End stage play acts as an official prequel to the flagship series, focusing on younger versions of Joyce Maldonado-Byers, Jim Hopper, Bob Newby, Dr. Martin Brenner, and Henry Creel (AKA, One/Vecna), who are played on the screen by Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Sean Astin, Matthew Modine, and Jamie Campbell Bower, respectively. In The First Shadow, they’re played by Isabella Pappas, Oscar Lloyd, Chris Buckley, Patrick Vaill, and Louis McCartney, respectively.
Check out the trailer for The First Shadow below:
Related: ‘Stranger Things’ Prequel Arrives, Sees Return of Several Characters From Main Series
The stage play opened at the Phoenix Theater on December 14, last year, to rave reviews from fans and critics. Now, per WhatsOnStage, The First Shadow has officially extended its West End run through to December this year.
Writer Kate Trefry previously said that fans will gain a “deeper understanding” of Season 5 if they watch the play. And now that The First Shadow will be turning the West End upside down for a while longer, fans won’t need to worry so much about when Season 5 will arrive, as they’ll have more time to prepare for Hawkins’ last stand against Vecna.
Per the official website, here’s the synopsis for The First Shadow:
BEFORE THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN…
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.
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 First Shadow is now playing at the Phoenix Theater. For information on tickets and showtimes, visit the official website.
Have you seen The First Shadow yet? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!