Stranger Things: The First Shadow to Be Filmed for Netflix Streaming

The Broadway supernatural hit STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW is heading to screens around the world. The acclaimed stage production, a theatrical prequel to Netflix’s global phenomenon STRANGER THINGS, is being professionally filmed for future release on Netflix.

The decision to capture the Broadway staging on film comes in the wake of the play’s critical and commercial success. Performances at New York’s Marquis Theatre have drawn huge audiences since the show opened in April 2025 following a celebrated London premiere. The filming is taking place in February 2026, with several performances paused between February 10 and February 14 to accommodate cameras and crews.

This filmed version will preserve the original Broadway company led by Tony nominee Louis McCartney, who plays a young Henry Creel, the troubled teen destined to become the mysterious villain Vecna from the STRANGER THINGS universe. The recording will capture the cast before their final performances together later in March, as the company prepares to hand the show over to a new ensemble for the next phase of its run.

STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW takes audiences back to 1959 Hawkins, Indiana, decades before the events of the television series begin. The narrative centres on Henry Creel’s arrival in town and the early supernatural forces at work in the seemingly ordinary community. It explores how dark forces first emerged and started to shape the eerie mythology that fans know from the screen.

Written by STRANGER THINGS writer Kate Trefry in close collaboration with the series creators, the Duffer Brothers, and acclaimed playwright Jack Thorne, the work extends the franchise’s storytelling into the realm of live theatre with cinematic scope and emotional depth. Direction is by Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin.

The play helped deepen the narrative of the series’ final season by fleshing out backstories that appear onscreen, and the Broadway production itself has been recognised with multiple awards for its design, staging and technical achievements.

For fans who have not had the chance to travel to New York or London to see the show live, the streamed version will offer the next best thing: a high-quality recording that captures the spectacle and emotional beats of the stage experience. Whether you are a devoted follower of the franchise or a theatre lover curious about how genre storytelling works on the Broadway stage, the filmed production will make THE FIRST SHADOW accessible to a far wider audience.

A firm release date on Netflix has not yet been announced, but the project is expected to arrive following the conclusion of the play’s Broadway run and will become part of the expanding STRANGER THINGS canon.