‘Stranger Things’ Play ‘The First Shadow’ Plots Move to Broadway

Casting notices for production hint that acclaimed prequel play to hit Netflix series could open in New York City in 2025

Cast members Shane Attwooll, Faith Delaney, Christopher Buckley, Ella Karuna Williams, Louis McCartney, Isabella Pappas and Oscar Lloyd bow at the curtain call during the press night performance of “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” at the Phoenix Theatre on December 14, 2023 in London, England.

Max Cisotti/Dave Benett/Getty Im

Three months after Stranger Things: The First Shadow opened in London, the stage play based on the hit Netflix series is already plotting its move to Broadway.

According to Broadway World, casting notices for the Broadway run of the acclaimed play have already been posted, with an estimated opening date sometime in 2025. Like the London production, Stephen Daldry is listed as director of the New York City staging.

The prequel play — written by Kate Trefry and based on an original story by Stranger Things creators the Duffer brothers — opened in December 2023 at London’s Phoenix Theatre to better reviews than the past few seasons of the Netflix sci-fi drama.

The First Shadow serves as an origin story for what eventually take place in Hawkins, Indiana, with the play set in 1959 and featuring younger versions of Stranger Things characters like Jim Hopper, Joyce Maldonado, Henry Creel, Dr. Brenner, Bob Newby and other Hawkins denizens.

Trending

In a recent interview with Deadline, Louis McCartney, who plays Henry Creel in the stage production, talked about the possibility of The First Shadow crossing the Atlantic. “Broadway is an exciting conversation,” McCartney said. “Obviously everybody’s talking about it, and I’d be more than chuffed to do it. But the thing is, the future holds a million possibilities. And there’s some that I can’t decide on. There’s things that the third party will decide. And I’m just kind of open to everything.”

In January, the Duffer brothers revealed that production on the fifth and final season of Stranger Things — which was impacted by both the writers and actors strikes — was back underway.

More News

Go to PMC.com