Stranger Things: The First Shadow Cast Reveal How Their Characters Are Different From the TV Series

Stranger Things: The First Shadow, the Tony Award-winning stage play prequel to the hit Netflix series, is a one-of-a-kind experience. Not only does the show pull back the curtain on some fan-favorite characters’ origins, but it’s the kind of expansion of a TV show’s universe that’s never been done before. Speaking with ComicBook at New York Comic Con, the stars for the series opened up about how they pay tribute to the original versions of the characters that fans already know from the TV series, and what talks they may have had with the actors who originated the part.

Videos by ComicBook.com

Burke Swanson plays the young Jim Hopper in the series, playing the younger version of David Harbour’s iconic Stranger Things character. In our talk, Swanson opened up about finding his take on Hopper that didn’t fall into simply imitating Harbour or his mannerisms, not that it stops fans from seeing connected dots that may not be intentional.

I think what people forget about, particularly within a show setting, who are big fans of the TV show, is that we’re not going to like historical Williamsburg in Virginia, where we’re watching re-enactors kind of go through the life of Hawkins. We’re actually adding to and celebrating the story that has been happening,” Swanson said.”So how do you find that balance of celebration while also adding to the thing that they already love?” So for “

He continued, “For me, I’ve just found that you find three things that are sort of your core elements. The way I say, ‘Bob’ and ‘Joyce’ being one of those, the way that I sort of hold myself and move about the space, the general attitude and perspective of the world, and those things are what I drive….What’s amazing is I go to the stage there and somebody is like, ‘Wow, the way that you like, rubbed your earlobe. It’s just like David.’ And I said, what a beautiful thing is that’s the inspiration moment, right? The text has been written with all of David in mind, but it’s also been written with me in mind.”

As for meeting Harbour, Swanson said it hasn’t happened yet as “Marvel’s kind of kind of got him locked away.”

For Alex Breaux, taking on the role of Matthew Modine’s Dr. Brenner presented its own challenge as he’s playing a still adult version of the character, albeit naturally, a younger version. Breaux revealed that there were key elements he took from Modine’s performance that he utilizes, but that he specifically engages with how Brenner would be operating at this point in his life.

“I go back to what’s driving his scientific method, and it’s this crazy collision of neuroscience and physics,” Breaux revealed. “And our play goes into the backstory of where he came from himself and what might be driving or dragging him towards this theory and hypothesis and kind of end game working for the US Department of Defense.”

He continued, “I basically try to take a few elements from Matthew Modine, but I also tried to realize when we’re our younger selves, I think being in conversation with that’s pretty interesting. We can be very different people early in our careers. And on the TV show, Dr. Brenner is so elegant and cocksure in Hawkins laboratory, I wanted to play him a little bit more transgressively. Someone who might be a little less in control of his emotions at times, and maybe at times in his experiments, overreach in a naive way. A naivety and an aggression that time as an experience is smoothed over that you find in the TV show.

One of the biggest pieces of the puzzle for Stranger Things: The First Shadow is learning even more about Henry Creel, aka Vecna, the major antagonist that has haunted the series for a few seasons now.

The only actor that was carried over from the original West End production of The First Shadow is Louis McCartney, who played the part in the 2023 London performances and does so again now on Broadway. Having now played the character for years, McCartney opened up about how time has given him a better understanding of the character and how his conversations with Jamie Campbell Bower have helped him there as well.

“(Jamie’s) came twice,” McCartney revealed. “So he came sort of like midway through London, which was great and really gave me the, like, strength and confidence to really push through with the run because that was our initial shot of Henry and him going, ‘Hey, great job. We chatted, and we both agreed on a lot of things. And, he was really interested in the story of Henry and what I’ve done with the character. And then when he came to New York, he was just like, ‘Yeah, it’s way better. I love the production. You guys have really stepped it up. And I still love it. And I’m still very proud of you.’”