It’s apparently no longer controversial to say the Stranger Things finale was disappointing. Fans were so convinced it was “bad on purpose” that they invented a conspiracy theory about a secret episode. Even Papa himself, Matthew Modine, said he didn’t like the finale. However, this may not be true forever.
Even though Stranger Things is over, there are still new chapters left in the series — and a crucial prequel could make the finale much better in retrospect.
Collider recently revealed that Stranger Things’ tie-in Broadway play, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, will be professionally filmed for release on Netflix at some point in the future. Performances were canceled all this week, which means the cast will probably be the one currently performing. That is especially interesting since Alex Breaux, who played Lt. Akers in Stranger Things Season 5, currently plays an earlier version of Matthew Modine’s Dr. Brenner on stage.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow is set in 1959, when the Creel family moves to Hawkins, Indiana. Young Henry tries to make friends at school and ultimately forms a close connection with Patty Newby, the adopted sister of Bob Newby. Meanwhile, Joyce Maldonado (who would later go on to become Joyce Byers) is trying to lead the school play. When Henry’s telekinetic powers cause havoc, Joyce, a young Jim Hopper, and a number of other familiar figures set out to solve the mystery.
This play is officially canon to the rest of Stranger Things, and was even referenced in a number of flashbacks during Season 5. For example, many fans were confused by one of Henry Creel’s memories involving a young Henry encountering a guy in a cave with a briefcase. The stage play reveals this was actually a colleague of Dr. Brenner who defected to the Soviet Union, and when Henry found him, he was transported and forever changed.
This memory seemed like a complete non sequitur to most viewers, but for those lucky enough to make the pilgrimage to Broadway or London’s West End, it made perfect sense. Now, once this filmed version comes out on Netflix, everyone will get the complete story.
Will this completely fix all the problems with Season 5? Probably not. In fact, the stage show actually reveals more plot holes, like why Joyce and Hopper never referred to this high school adventure in the show. But at the very least, it will make the finale’s most crucial flashback make more sense.
There is still no word as to when this filmed version will be made available, but with animated spinoff Tales from ‘85 premiering in April 2026, there won’t be any shortage of Stranger Things content for a while, even if the main story is over.
