Stranger Things is making its way to the West End with the announcement of a new musical that will open later this year.
The blockbuster Netflix series is nearing the end of its run, but the adventures of the people of Hawkins do not appear to be slowing down.
While the Upside Down appears to be wreaking havoc on film, the stage production will represent a precursor to the events of the 1983 TV series.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow was written by Kate Trefry, a writer and co-executive producer on the series, based on an original narrative by Matt and Ross Duffer, Jack Thorne (Enola Holmes), and Trefry.
Stephen Daldry (The Crown, Billy Elliot) will helm the film, with Justin Martin serving as co-director.
Viewers have already been enticed with an explanation of what the programme would be about, with the show set 24 years before the show.
‘Hawkins, 1959: an ordinary town with routine concerns. ‘Young Jim Hopper’s car won’t start, Bob Newby’s sister won’t listen to his radio show, and Joyce Maldonado just wants to graduate and get out of town,’ according to the description.
‘When new student Henry Creel arrives, his family discovers that making a fresh start isn’t that simple… and the shadows of the past extend far and wide.’
It is claimed to ‘take audiences back to the beginning of the Stranger Things saga’ and to ‘hold the key to the finish’.
The cast has yet to be confirmed, but the performance will be performed at the Phoenix Theatre.
‘We’re ecstatic with Stranger Things: The First Shadow. ‘Working with the wonderful Stephen Daldry has been nothing short of amazing, and Kate Trefry has created a play that is shocking, unsettling, and poignant,’ said the Duffer brothers in a statement.
‘On a voyage into the past that lays the basis for Stranger Things’ future, you will meet endearing new characters as well as very familiar ones.
‘We’re eager to tell you more about the plot, but we won’t since it’s more enjoyable to discover it for yourself. I can’t wait to meet you all in London, geeks.’
The Duffer Brothers unveiled plans for the stage performance in July of last year, just after the immersive Stranger Things: The Experience opened.
A few months later, they previewed season five as a “culmination” of all that has come before it.
‘I think that what we’re trying to do is go back to the beginning a little bit, in sort of the tone of one. But also scale-wise, it’s more aligned with what four is. So, hopefully, it’s got a little bit of everything,’ Ross said while appearing on a panel during a Netflix event in Los Angeles.
He added it would be a ‘balancing act’ to tie up character arcs, loose ends, and ‘doing our final reveals’.
With the last season still in the works, it’ll be at least a year before it hits our screens, but we do know the opening episode will be named Chapter One: The Crawl.
Stranger Things is streaming on Netflix.
Source My Celebrity Life.