Netflix's Stranger Things is getting a spin-off in the form of a stage play in London's West End that will tell an original story.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow will debut in late 2023 with the Duffer Brothers acting as creative producers. One of the show's writers and co-executive producers, Kate Trefry, is also writing the stage play, while Stephen Daldry is directing.
The story will focus on Henry Creel, better known as Vecna, when he and his family first moved to Hawkins, Indiana, in 1959.
"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," reads the plot synopsis. "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 will seemingly be a canonical entry in the Stranger Things universe, meaning its story lines up with that of the show. It may also have bigger consequences, Netflix said: "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 play might tide over fans who can get to London, as Stranger Things Season 4 wrapped up last summer and its fifth and final season isn't expected for another couple of years.
David Harbour, who plays Hopper in the show, recently admitted that he's ready for Stranger Things to end, saying "it is, of course, very bittersweet, you know, there’s a sadness there. But also, we’ve all grown up.”
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.