Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Stranger Things, Season 5, Vol. 1.

As Stranger Things storms back into Hawkins with its darkest, most ambitious mystery yet, one thing has become crystal clear: The answers fans are craving didn’t begin in the ‘80s. They started decades earlier — and they’re already onstage. Stranger Things: The First Shadow, the franchise’s theatrical prequel, has become essential viewing for anyone heading into the final season. Not only does it fill in untold history for Henry Creel (Jamie Campbell Bower), Hopper (David Harbour), Joyce (Winona Ryder​​​​​​), and Bob (Sean Astin), but Season 5 Volume 1 also openly draws on it, linking several of its most pivotal twists directly to the events of the play.

If you’re waiting for Volume 2 and looking to decode the show’s biggest questions — yes, including what’s going on with Max (Sadie Sink), the cave, and Henry’s earliest powers — The First Shadow is the missing piece.

What ‘The First Shadow’ Is About

Image via Manuel Harlan

Unlike the neon-soaked nostalgia of the Netflix series, The First Shadow transports audiences to 1959 Hawkins. Directed by Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin and written by Kate Trefry from a story by the Duffer Brothers, Jack Thorne, and Trefry, the production blends small-town Americana with the franchise’s trademark supernatural dread.

At its center is teenage Henry Creel, played onstage by Louis McCartney. Before he becomes the Vecna we know, Henry is a troubled kid trying — and failing — to convince himself he’s “normal.” The period covered in The First Shadow spans decades before Henry Creel has developed his powers. It includes not only Henry’s own experiences, but also those of people he interacted with during those earlier years. For example, the childhoods of Jim Hopper (Burke Swanson), Joyce Maldonado (Isabella Pappas), and Bob Newby (Christopher Buckley) were examined. As the characters in The First Shadow travel through different points in their own lives, we can see the timeline of Hawkins from when the characters weren’t involved in anything that would eventually create a point of reference for Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), until after Eleven had escaped. There is also a portion of the play devoted to Henry’s relationship with his sister and with this other person, whom people see as dangerous to Henry in the future.

The other major focus in The First Shadow is an unexpected historical connection. It is the legacy of events in the 1940s, stemming from the United States Navy accidentally transporting an entire ship to a different dimension. This was a vital part of establishing Hawkins Labs, as it provided a link between Henry’s powers and the government’s first attempts to study paranormal activity. The First Shadow allows viewers to see Hawkins’ timeline as it connects to its future, culminating in the establishment of Hawkins Labs as a hub of paranormal research.

How the Play Connects to ‘Stranger Things 5’

Image via Netflix

The Duffers teased years ago that The First Shadow would drop “not-so-subtle hints” for the final season — and Season 5 proves they meant it. Now that Volume 1 is out, the overlap is impossible to miss.

The most significant link revolves around Max. Her Volume 1 episode “Sorcerer” reveals that her consciousness is trapped inside Vecna’s mindscape, drifting through the remnants of Henry’s past. Among these is the cave where young Henry first unlocks his powers — a major location introduced in The First Shadow and now central to the show’s final arc. The cave isn’t just a memory; it’s a battleground that Vecna refuses to revisit, hinting at trauma that predates his monstrous evolution.

Season 5 also expands on Henry’s fractured identity through Holly Wheeler’s (Nell Fisher) encounters with Mr. Whatsit, her imaginary protector who turns out to be Henry himself. This idea of Henry presenting as gentle — even helpful — echoes the unsettling duality explored throughout the play, in which young Henry alternates between vulnerability and terrifying capability.

The First Shadow also deepens the lore around Matthew Brenner’s (Matthew Modine) early influences. The play reveals that Brenner’s father survived the dimensional ship incident, linking Henry’s abilities to a long lineage of experiments that stretch back to the 1940s. Season 5 leans into this history, connecting Henry’s evolution with the broader scientific failures that shaped Hawkins. If Stranger Things has always been a story about the past bubbling back up, The First Shadow shows just how far back that past really goes.

How To Watch ‘Stranger Things: The First Shadow’

Image via Manuel Harlan

The First Shadow first opened on London’s West End in late 2023, where it quickly became a phenomenon. Due to massive demand, it extended its run into 2025 before transferring to Broadway, where it opened at the Marquis Theater on April 22, 2025.

Unfortunately, the only way to see it now is in person, on Broadway in New York City, as the production is currently running with ongoing ticket availability throughout the year. Additional locations have not been formally announced, but producers have hinted at plans for global stagings due to demand.

At the moment, the play does not have a streaming release. Netflix has not announced a filmed version, though the massive viewership of Season 5 has renewed calls for one. Given how central the play’s lore is to the final season, a digital release wouldn’t be surprising — but nothing is official yet.

Currently, attending a live performance of The First Shadow is the only way to immerse oneself in the experience. For those able to travel to New York, the event offers a spectacle featuring incredible aerial effects, dimensional shifts, and one of the most demanding staging efforts attempted within a franchise already recognized as an innovator.

Why It Matters Before Season 5 Volume 2

Image via Netflix

If Volume 1 taught us anything, it’s that Stranger Things is closing out its story by looking backward — and The First Shadow is the most transparent window into the past the show has ever offered. It explains the cave, Henry’s earliest powers, and the origins of the dimensional rift. It sets up Max’s current fate. And it lays the groundwork for Vecna’s final plan, long before Hawkins becomes his hunting ground.

The Duffers promised the play would foreshadow the end. Now that Season 5 is here, it’s doing more than that — it’s filling in missing chapters of a story hurtling toward its last showdown.