The first major Stranger Things spin-off is official. However, it is not a new series. Instead, the Netflix hit copies the successful concept of Harry Potter.
While we wait for the 5th season of Stranger Things, an unexpected spin-off is announced that tells the prequel of the successful Netflix series. Contrary to expectations, it’s not an episodic spin-off or even a Stranger Things movie that will be released on Neflix or in theatres.
No, Stranger Things is coming to the stage, taking the same step as Harry Potter after the end of the original series. As Netflix has just announced in a press release, the play Stranger Things: The First Shadow will premiere at London’s Phoenix Theatre later this year.
The First Shadow: Stranger Things play tells Hawkins’ back story
Whereas a sequel was told in Harry Potter with The Enchanted Child, Stranger Things ventures into the past in the wake of The First Shadow. The plot of the play is set in 1958 and aims to explain the connection between the small town of Hawkins and the Upside Down.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Intriguingly, Netflix teases that The First Shadow doesn’t just explore the beginning of the Stranger Things world. The play could also come up with the key to the ending. Clues may be sprinkled on stage that will become relevant to the series finale on Netflix.
Creepy and heartfelt: Stranger Things spin-off brings back old characters and introduces new ones
Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer, the creative minds behind Stranger Things, are also involved in the drama. In the official press release they describe the production with the following words:
“[Stranger Things: The First Shadow] is surprising and creepy, but also heartfelt. You meet both new, lovable characters and old acquaintances on a trip down memory lane that lays the groundwork for the later Stranger Things. “
The story of the play was developed by the Duffer brothers along with Kate Trefry and Jack Thorne. Thorne was already involved in the making of Harry Potter and the Enchanted Child. Trefry is responsible for the final screenplay of the Stranger Things play. Stephen Daldry, who was previously involved in the acclaimed series The Crown in the Netflix cosmos, could be won over as director.
