Entertainment
Netflix Is Finally Giving Stranger Things Fans What They Want
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Stranger Things finally ended late last year, to a mixed reception from fans, some of whom were holding out hope for a secret final episode that would give them the real ending. That never happened, but instead, rumors are circulating that Stranger Things: The First Shadow, the Broadway play about Vecna’s early life, will be filmed this week for a future release on Netflix. The streamer has yet to officially confirm the rumors originally reported by Collider, but if true, this is the strangest release strategy possible.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow Breaks Free Of Containment
Stranger Things: The First Shadow premiered in London’s West End back in 2023. At the time, the Duffer brothers explained that the play would be considered canon, which turned out to be true when the finale referenced the play within the play, “Dark of the Moon,” Henry Creel’s time as a student at Hawkins High, and most importantly, Henry’s experience in the cave. Viewers watching the finale didn’t know why the cave was so terrifying to Henry, who the man was with the case inside it, and why that rock was so important. Now, months after the finale, fans unable to attend the play will be able to connect the dots.
As the final season aired, fans on social media complained that only a small fraction could watch the play and understand key lore, leaving many feeling the season was incomplete. Stranger Things: The First Shadow was a unique way to introduce Henry’s background and expand on the origins of the Upside Down with a wild new twist that ,again, the Duffers have said will be vitally important to the franchise going forward. It’s understandable that Netflix would finally relent and allow the play to be filmed for the streaming service since the upcoming prequel goes deep into what started this mess in the first place.
No one has said which of the Stranger Things: The First Shadow casts will perform in the filmed version, and again, it hasn’t been officially confirmed, but the play did black out time this month, which is highly unusual while a performance is running. Ever since it was first announced, rumors swirled that the play would eventually be streamable, but at this point, it feels like any rumor about the franchise’s future could be true. Or none of them.
The Murky Future Of Stranger Things
Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85, the upcoming animated series set between Seasons 2 and 3 and based on the canceled video game, is the only spin-off confirmed to be coming anytime soon. The upcoming spin-off set in a different decade with an entirely different cast is rumored to center on the mysterious stone, the establishment of the Nevada research lab, and how the Philadelphia Experiment ties into the arrival of the Mind Flayer. Then again, it’s also rumored to be set in the 90s with a different generation of kids battling a re-emergence of the Mind Flayer.
The big question is, will any of this satisfy Stranger Things fans who were let down by the final season? The answer is no, because in today’s world, fandoms of all types run away with their own headcanon and theories about what should really happen, though in their defense, some fans have fantastic and creative ideas that really do outshine canon. Stranger Things: The First Shadow, finally getting a wide release months after it mattered, will be salt in the wounds of the series’ biggest fans.