Stranger Things star Jamie Campbell Bower has made a surprise appearance at the Broadway spinoff The First Shadow – watch below.
The stage prequel to the hit Netflix show has been running at New York’s Marquis Theatre since April, and on Friday night (December 19), Campbell Bower, who plays Henry Creel/Vecna in the show, made a one-off appearance on the stage during the show’s final scene.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow is set in 1959 and follows younger versions of Jim Hopper, Bob Newby and Henry Creel, but on this occasion, Campbell Bower showed up as an adult version of Henry, to a rapturous reception from the Broadway audience.
In the scene, the adult Henry comes face-to-face with the young Eleven at Dr. Brenner’s lab. Watch footage of Campbell Bower’s appearance and the audience’s reception of the moment here:
#StrangerThings star Jamie Campbell Bower made a surprise, one-night appearance during Friday’s performance of “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” at the Marquis Theatre.
Bower appeared as Henry Creel in the final scene, which sees Dr. Brenner introduce him to Eleven. pic.twitter.com/tHC2adaEzt
— Variety (@Variety) December 20, 2025
Sup NY x https://t.co/1Y6VncKTST
— Jamie Campbell Bower (@Jamiebower) December 20, 2025
Talk about a jump scare. Jamie Campbell Bower surprises fans at Stranger Things: The First Shadow by playing Henry Creel in the final scene of the play.
📸: Evan Zimmerman pic.twitter.com/zYMAwPJKzz
— Stranger Things on Broadway (@STonBroadway) December 20, 2025
Jamie Campbell Bower surprises audiences appearing as Henry Creel in Stranger Things: The First Shadow on Broadway! #StrangerThings pic.twitter.com/WuNzrmZjqt
— Jordan Williams (@jordan_w126) December 20, 2025
Louis McCartney, who plays the younger version of Henry in the show, introduced Campbell Bower during the curtain call, saying: “To have him here tonight to share this moment with you all – with all of us on stage – and to invite you into this moment at the Marquis stage, man, it is such an honour. You’re such an inspiration. You’re such a support to me, to the show, all these years.”
“Henry Creel is the dynamite of The First Shadow. Without you, nothing is possible. This is not possible without you, man. Your love, your talent, your devotion – everything you’ve put into this, all these years.”
The First Shadow premiered in 2023 at London’s Phoenix Theatre, with an official synopsis reading: “Hawkins, 1959: a regular town with regular worries. Young Jim Hopper’s car won’t start, Bob Newby’s sister won’t take his radio show seriously and Joyce Maldonado just wants to graduate and get the hell out of town.”
“When new student Henry Creel arrives, his family finds that a fresh start isn’t so easy… and the shadows of the past have a very long reach.”
As for the TV show, volume one of the fifth and final season dropped on November 26, with episodes five, six and seven set to arrive at 5pm PT on Christmas Day (1am on Boxing Day in the UK), while the series finale will premiere at the same time on New Year’s Eve (1am on New Year’s Day in the UK).
In a four-star review of volume one, NME wrote: “Perhaps inevitably, volume one feels a lot like an appetiser for the rest of the season. But even in piecemeal form, Stranger Things has a flair for epic and emotionally resonant storytelling. After all those years, this smart, big-hearted sci-fi show still has the power to turn your head upside down.”