Stranger Things: The First Shadow unveils full cast

Stranger Things: The First Shadow is a new look for the popular Netflix series, which will premiere soon. With a stunning fourth season that captivated the world and turned it inside out, Stranger Things is coming back to take the plot further by having the audience go back in time. However, this is not the much-anticipated franchise's fifth season.

With the upcoming stage play Stranger Things: The First Shadow, which will make its world premiere at the Phoenix Theatre in London's West End later this year, the show's creators are prepared to take the story on an entirely different route.

Netflix released a magnificent and ominous teaser that displayed an artistic approach to the plot and transported viewers to the terrifying Vecna's origin. The cast for the upcoming play will bring back popular characters such as a young Hopper, Joyce, and Henry Creel (who eventually turns into Vecna).

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"Nothing short of phenomenal” - Matt and Ross Duffer's comment on the cast of Stranger Things: The First Shadow

The full cast of Stranger Things: The First Shadow has been revealed, including the actors who will take on the roles of young Hopper, Joyce, Dr. Brenner, and Henry Creel, who were previously played on the show by David Harbour, Winona Ryder, Matthew Modine, and Jamie Campbell Bower, respectively. The play acts as a prequel to the popular Netflix series, taking viewers back to 1959 Hawkins, Indiana.

In a joint statement, the creators of the show, Matt and Ross Duffer, claimed the following about the actors who are going to portray the Stranger Things characters in the play:

"The cast of Stranger Things: The First Shadow is nothing short of phenomenal. These actors brilliantly explore the early days of many fan favorites – including Hopper, Joyce, Bob, Henry and Dr. Brenner – while also bringing new characters to vivid life. We couldn’t be more thrilled and can’t wait for you to meet them all live on stage. See you in London, nerds!”

The main cast for the upcoming play includes the following actors:

• Shane Attwooll as Chief Hopper
• Kemi Awoderu as Sue Anderson
• Chase Brown as Lonnie Byers
• Christopher Buckley as Bob Newby
• Ammar Duffus as Charles Sinclair
• Gilles Geary as Ted Wheeler
• Florence Guy as Karen Childress
• Max Harwood as Allen Munson
• Michael Jibson as Victor Creel
• Oscar Lloyd as James Hopper, Jr.
• Louis McCartney as Henry Creel
• Isabella Pappas as Joyce Maldonado
• Matthew Pidgeon as Father Newby
• Calum Ross as Walter Henderson
• Maisie Norma Seaton as Claudia Henderson
• Patrick Vaill as Dr. Brenner
• Lauren Ward as Virginia Creel
• Ella Karuna Williams as Patty Newby

Other members of the ensemble cast for the play also include Tricia Adele-Turner, Lauren Arney, Reya-Nyomi Brown, Patricia Castro, Lydia Fraser, Isaac Gryn, Mark Hammersley, Tom Peters, Kingdom Sibanda, Tiana Simone, Danny Sykes, and Meesha Turner.

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More about Stranger Things: The First Shadow

The upcoming play is written by Kate Trefry and is directed by Stephen Daldry, with Justin Martin co-directing with him. The play is reportedly based on an original story by the series’ creators, the Duffer brothers.

The official synopsis for the upcoming Stranger Things play reads:

"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."

The production will open at the Phoenix Theater in London’s West End on December 14, 2023.

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The fifth season of Stranger Things will allegedly take more time to premiere. However, director Shawn Levy confidently claimed that it would be worth the wait.