Stranger Things grew far beyond its original premise over the past four years, as Seasons 4 and 5 deepened the mythology, and a prequel stage play expanded the saga off-screen.
Few Netflix originals have matched the reach of Stranger Things. When Season 4 launched in May 2022, Volume One amassed 287 million hours viewed in its first week alone. Volume Two followed in July 2022, ending with a brutal confrontation between the Hawkins crew and Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) that left the town splintered and the barrier between Hawkins and the Upside Down dangerously thin.
The fifth and final season reunited the ensemble that turned the series into a phenomenon: Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven/Jane, Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler, Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson, Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield, Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair, Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers, David Harbour as Jim Hopper, Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler, Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers, Joe Keery as Steve Harrington, Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley, and Jamie Campbell Bower as Henry Creel/Vecna/One. Terminator icon Linda Hamilton joined as Dr. Kay, bringing another genre veteran into the fold.
But before Season 5 reached audiences, the franchise took a detour to the stage.
When Stranger Things: The First Shadow premiered in London’s West End, it offered a canonical prequel set in 1959 Hawkins. The play introduced younger iterations of characters fans already knew, including Joyce Maldonado (Isabella Pappas), Jim Hopper (Oscar Lloyd Jr.), and Bob Newby (Christopher Buckley). At the center stood Henry Creel (Louis McCartney), years before he would become One—and eventually Vecna.
The production explored Henry’s adolescence in far greater detail, fleshing out the circumstances that shaped him. A key addition to the mythology was Patty Newby, played by Ella Karuna Williams. The adopted daughter of Principal Newby (Matthew Pidgeon) and Bob’s sister, Patty, formed a bond with Henry rooted in shared loneliness and neglect.
Across the play’s three-hour runtime, their relationship became the story’s emotional engine. Before Dr. Brennan (Patrick Vaill) removed Henry from Hawkins to become the first subject at the laboratory, Henry assisted Patty in locating her biological mother. The moment complicated Henry’s arc, suggesting he was not merely a future villain but someone capable of empathy and attachment.
The closing beats of The First Shadow hinted that Henry’s connection to Patty endured on a spiritual level, prompting speculation that she might surface in the show’s final act. As Stranger Things Season 5 rolled out in three parts—November 26, December 25, and December 31, 2025—fans wondered whether Patty would influence the climactic battle against Vecna.
Season 5 unfolded across eight feature-length episodes, which the Duffer Brothers described as eight movies. Set in fall 1987, roughly a year after Season 4, the final chapter centered on Hawkins preparing for a last stand as the Upside Down encroached further into reality.
Patty ultimately did not appear onscreen. However, the events of Season 5 have reportedly prompted revisions to The First Shadow itself.
Season 5 proved polarizing, with debates ranging from the Conformity Gate theory to broader questions about the show’s endgame. Still, it expanded Henry Creel’s backstory in ways that more tightly linked the series to its stage counterpart.
Although Stranger Things concluded on Netflix, the property continues to shift and grow.
Recent performances of Stranger Things: The First Shadow have reportedly been adjusted to better reflect the revelations of Season 5. The play, which opened in London’s West End in December 2023 before transferring to Broadway in April 2025, dives into Henry’s childhood long before he transformed into Vecna. The Duffer Brothers previously told fans that you “absolutely do not have to have seen the play to understand” Season 5, yet theatergoers noted that the production offered crucial context—particularly regarding why Vecna feared entering the cave that became central in the show’s final season.
According to Stranger Things Updates on X, recent performances have quietly altered “some scenes and the script” to align with Season 5’s mythology. The account specified that “all the changes were related to the cave and Nevada,” both pivotal elements in the show’s concluding episodes.
Season 5 included flashbacks inside Henry’s fractured psyche, depicting his murder of a Russian scientist and his banishment to the Abyss via a mysterious artifact. Those revelations appear to have necessitated tweaks to the stage narrative to preserve continuity.
Another reported adjustment involves Henry’s age at the time of his disappearance into the Abyss. Earlier versions suggested he vanished as an eight-year-old Boy Scout. The revised script now states he was 11, aligning the timeline with established Netflix canon.
The changes surfaced soon after news broke that the Broadway production would be professionally filmed for a future Netflix release. Recording reportedly took place from Tuesday, February 10, through Saturday, February 14, with public performances canceled during that period.
Stranger Things may have ended its television run in 2025, but The First Shadow continues at the Phoenix Theatre in London and the Marquis Theater in New York. Directed by Stephen Daldry with co-direction by Justin Martin, and written by Kate Trefry from an original story by Trefry, the Duffer Brothers, and Jack Thorne, the play has evolved from a companion piece to a vital part of the canon.
Next up for the franchise is Tales from ’85, an animated series slated to debut on Netflix this April.
How do you feel about the stage play being rewritten? Let us know in the comments down below!
