Stranger Things: The First Shadow has taken over the minds of fans for some time now. Duffer Brothers announced this project at the beginning of this year stirring excitement among viewers. Since then, the team has dropped several glimpses from behind-the-stage moments to hints of the storyline that the play will depict. Now, with the release date closing in, the creators have spilled beans on how this much-awaited play came to life.

The new reports reveal that the intriguing plot of this live show came about due to an unexpected delay.

Stranger Things: The First Shadow emerged from a delay 

Matt and Ross Duffer sat down with The Guardian to talk about Stranger Things and more on December 10. During the conversation, the siblings also shed light on the stage play that will hit the London theatre in two days. They recalled the time when the British director Stephen Daldry proposed the idea of taking this universe beyond TV screens to Netflix but had to postpone it because of his involvement with The Crown. This delay, however, worked in favor of the stage play’s plotline and was “the best thing ever,” as per Matt.

“When Stephen got sucked back into The Crown, it kind of vanished for a second,” explained Ross. The Duffer Brothers told themselves that this dream would never come true because Netflix wanted Daldry to prioritize the historical drama. So they started working on season 4 of the sci-fi series and found their primary antagonist, Henry Creel. In the show, they depicted flashbacks of his life when he was a kid and had moved to Hawkins, Indiana.

Once they create Creel, the Duffers, Daldry, and screenwriter Jack Thorne, who was roped in for the play, agreed that this character’s backstory held much potential. Partly, because season 4 only showed the bits necessary for the storyline. Hence, with the play they dive deeper into Creel, answering an important question.

The stage play will explore whether Henry Creel was ever redeemable 

It has long been a topic of debate how Vecna mercilessly killed humans despite being one in his past life. Did Henry Creel ever have humanity before he turned into this monstrous creature? This was a question in fans minds and the play will answer just that. Tickling the interest of viewers, Matt Duffer teased that Stranger Things: The First Shadow will explore “what, if any, humanity Henry had before he went full-blown, you know, Darth Vader.”

Stranger Things: The First Shadow will dive into the backstory of Henry Creel’s life and what kind of kid he was in the 1950s. Meanwhile, production delays have become a tradition in this universe. Luckily for the Duffer Brothers, it has always turned out amazing, just like season 4 did. This makes one wonder what season 5 (and the play) holds in store for us.