Netflix is filming the Broadway production of 'Stranger Things: The First Shadow' this week for a future streaming release. The filming captures the show's original Broadway company in its current form, bringing the theatrical chapter of the 'Stranger Things' universe to streaming audiences.
To accommodate the shoot, producers Netflix and Sonia Friedman Productions cancelled performances from 10 to 14 February. The play will resume its regular schedule on 15 February. No release window has been set for the filmed version.
The Broadway cast is led by Tony nominee Louis McCartney as Henry Creel, after originating the role in London's West End. A new ensemble will take over in late March, with Victor de Paula Rocha stepping into the role of Henry Creel alongside Ayana Cymone as Patty Newby, Shea Grant as Joyce Maldonado, Juan Carlos as Bob Newby and Matthew Erick White as James Hopper Jr.
'Stranger Things: The First Shadow' opened on Broadway on 22 April 2025 at the Marquis Theatre, following its West End debut in December 2023. The production has seen a significant boost in interest after the release of Netflix's final season of 'Stranger Things', becoming one of Broadway's top weekly earners and recently posting grosses of about $1.4 million.
Written by Kate Trefry and based on an original story by the Duffer Brothers, Jack Thorne and Trefry, the play is a standalone prequel set in 1959 Hawkins, Indiana. It centres on teenage Henry Creel as his family relocates, and he begins to grapple with his connection to the darkness taking hold. The production explores early lives of familiar characters and lays groundwork connecting directly to the television show.
Directed by Stephen Daldry and co-directed by Justin Martin, the play features a cast of 34 and expansive stagecraft blending practical effects with cinematic storytelling. The Duffer Brothers serve as creative producers, with Shawn Levy's 21 Laps Entertainment as associate producer. Netflix previously documented the making of the stage production in 'Behind the Curtain: Stranger Things: The First Shadow', released in April 2025.
