Stranger Things set to return to Netflix with new instalment as prequel will finally be available to watch

It's not quite time to say goodbye to Hawkins just yet! The Stranger Things stage show, The First Shadow, is officially set to be filmed and released on Netflix.

Stranger Things: The First Shadow is set 24 years before the events of the Duffer Brothers' hit sci-fi series, exploring the lives of young Jim Hopper and Joyce Maldonado, as well as showing Henry Creel's chilling backstory. The show opened in London in 2023 and later transferred to Broadway.

Collider has confirmed that a few days of performances, from 10th to 14th February, have been cancelled to facilitate filming. There is not currently a release date for the Netflix release.

The performance will feature the show's original Broadway cast, including Louis McCartney (Henry Creel), TR Knight (Victor Creel), Gabrielle Nevaeh (Patty Newby) and Alex Breaux (Dr Brenner). Breaux also played Lieutenant Robert Akers in the final season of Stranger Things.

A return to Hawkins is sure to be welcome news for fans, after the season 5 finale proved divisive, with a rather anticlimactic ending for Jamie Campbell Bower's Vecna, and an ambiguous final scene for Millie Bobby Brown's Eleven.

Even star Matthew Modine, who played Dr Brenner in the series, recently revealed he wasn't a big fan of the finale episode.

However, the franchise is ploughing on, with animated spin-off Tales From '85 on its way.

In an interview with Deadline co-creator Ross Duffer revealed of the spin-off: "It’s obviously not Holly and the kids or anything like that. It’s something much smaller than that. We’ve said this before, the spin-off idea we have, it is early days, but it is an entirely new mythology.

"So, it is connected, and it is going to answer some questions that people have, and there’s some lingering questions that weren’t answered in the finale that will be answered in the spin-off. But at the end of the day, it’s got its own story and its own mythology."

Stranger Things is available to stream on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media.

Add Stranger Things to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.

Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.