As a big Stranger Things fan, I was excited to hear who’s taking over the roles of young Joyce, Hopper, and Vecna in the upcoming prequel! The casting news is finally official, which is great.
The new play, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, is a prequel to the popular series, revealing the backstory of Henry Creel and how he became the villain Vecna. It first opened in London’s West End on December 14th, and then came to New York City’s Marquis Theatre last April. However, the production will be changing in the near future.
According to Playbill, a new cast will join The First Shadow next April. Shea Grant will take on the role of Joyce, and Matthew Erick White will be joining the show as Hopper. Louis McCartney, who was nominated for a Tony Award, will play Henry Creel for the last time on March 29th, with Victor de Paula Rocha taking over the role after that.
The cast is also changing, with Ayana Cymone and Juan Carlos stepping into the roles of Patty and Bob Newby. More casting news will be shared soon. For viewers who only know the Netflix series, Patty has a more significant role in the original stage play, The First Shadow.
Patty, previously played by Ella Karuna Williams and Miranda Mufema, is Henry’s girlfriend from high school. Her brother, Bob Newby – who you may recognize from the Netflix series – is played by Sean Astin. While this Tony Award-winning play tells a different story than the show, it’s still considered part of the official Stranger Things timeline.
Fans can soon watch a filmed version of the Stranger Things play, The First Shadow, on Netflix. The play, based on a story by the show’s creators, The Duffer Brothers, along with Jack Thorne and Kate Trefry (who also wrote the script), was filmed over five days. While Netflix has announced the stream, a specific release date hasn’t been shared yet.
Even though the ending of Stranger Things season 5 received a lot of different opinions, Netflix plans to continue the story. They’re developing a live-action spin-off, an animated series, and a new show called The First Shadow which will allow fans who can’t see the stage play to still enjoy the expanded universe.
Details are still limited for the upcoming live-action series. However, a new animated version called Tales from ’85, featuring a different cast of voice actors, will debut on April 23rd. It will be interesting to see if both of these projects resonate with fans of the original Stranger Things.
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2026-02-11 18:48