Stranger Things Trilogy Revealed In The Works

If your biggest disappointment about the mysterious happenings in Hawkins, Indiana has been the lack of historical context, then you’ll be pleased to know that the first installment, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, opened on December 14. And there’s plenty more where that came from.

What’s more, there are already plans to transfer the musical stage adaptation of the series to Broadway.

The trailer for the Stranger Things trilogy doesn’t reveal much about the story but boasts the tagline, “The beginning of the Stranger Things story might hold the key to what comes next.”

The first installment will be set 27 years before the events in the series took place and feature younger versions of Joyce Byers, Jim Hopper, and Bob Newby.

Given the reported timeline of events, the principal characters will be high school age and mark the Creel family’s arrival in Hawkins.

Subsequent installments for the Stranger Things: The First Shadow will jump forward two or three years at a time, meaning that the trilogy’s timeline will cover the better part of a decade.

Though a stage adaptation of Stranger Things may seem like a risky move, it’s worth noting that the Duffer Brothers, as well as staff writer from the series, Kate Trefrey, wrote the original story for the trilogy.

The Duffer Brothers will also function as creative producers, meaning that the show will respect the source material. The project is helmed by Stephen Daldry, who has won Tony Awards for 1994’s An Inspector Calls, 2009’s Billy Elliot, and 2020’s The Inheritance.

In the Stranger Things series, we’re introduced to the Victor Creel and his family in season 4, and we only learn about his past through flashback sequences.

But since the Stranger Things trilogy will fill in the blanks that the series left for us, we can expect a more elaborate backstory that will fill us in on how his son, Henry, ended up becoming Vecna, the primary season 4 antagonist.

While season 5 will dive more into Vecna’s current choke hold on the town of Hawkins, the plays will provide insight into how all the pieces fell into place decades before the events that took place in season 1.

What remains to be seen, however, is the overall continuity. We all know by now that season 5 of Stranger Things will pick up production in January 2024.

But since new lore will be added in the form of a theatrical trilogy, we can’t help but wonder if the storytelling will influence the final season’s story arc with whatever new information is revealed.

The fifth and final season of Stranger Things has been a long time coming, and was delayed due to the SAG-AFTRA strike that ran from July 14 to November 9 2023.

Though the Stranger Things trilogy will probably introduce some new characters to the mix, season 5 will lean into already established characters while also introducing Linda Hamilton, who was cast in an undisclosed role. As of this writing, there is no set release date for season 5.