Stranger Things: Prequel play breaks new ground for the Duffer brothers
The creators of Stranger Things have said their upcoming stage show, based on their hit supernatural Netflix series, is a possibility they “never expected”.
Matt and Ross Duffer said the concept had not been “not part of the original plans” when they first wrote it for television eight years ago.
The duo told the BBC there were more spin-off ideas in the works but said taking the series to the stage is “completely new ground”.
Presented by Netflix and Sonia Friedman Productions, the new play, called Stranger Things: The First Shadow will premiere in London’s West End on 14 December 2023.
“When we made that first season, we were just shocked we were allowed to make a show, so to see what it has become, and now the world is starting to expand, is pretty great. But this is something we never expected,” he said.
Stranger Things debuted on Netflix in 2016. Nine years and 12 Emmy Awards later, the show is still garnering record-breaking viewing figures.
The fourth season was released in 2022 and currently tops Netflix’s most popular English TV list, with over 1.35 billion viewing hours. It also became the biggest premiere weekend ever for an English-language TV show on the streaming service.