“Stranger Things”: Creepy First Look at London Stage Show Brings Back a Familiar Villain

Netflix has released a first-look photo from the upcoming London production Stranger Things: The First Shadow, as well as its Act I title

Stranger Things: The First Shadow has officially kicked off its stage run!

PEOPLE has obtained a first-look image from the London production, which began playing in previews on Friday, as well as the title of its first act: "Chapter One: The Girl from Nowhere." The show's format takes a leaf from the popular Netflix series' episode titles.

In the photo from the prequel story, a Demogorgon (the main "big bad" from the show's first season) is shown facing off against a human character amid an ominous dark backdrop, featuring swirling clouds, flying creatures and what appears to be a mysterious figure in the top left corner.

The first Stranger Things play brings Hawkins, Indiana, back to 1959 and revisits Henry Creel — the teenager who becomes the show's villain Vecna — as his family moves to the small town.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.

Related: Netflix Orders 'Stranger Things' Animated Spinoff Ahead of Season 5 — and It Has The Duffer Brothers' Support!

Released earlier this month in honor of Stranger Things day, a behind-the-scenes video teases that young versions of the show's adult leads Jim Hopper, Joyce Maldonado (later Byers) and Bob Newby (played by David Harbour, Winona Ryder and Sean Astin, respectively, in the 1980s-set series) appear in The First Shadow, which serves as "the origin story of how Henry Creel became No. 1," as producer Sonia Friedman says in the video.

"It's the origin of Stranger Things; it's the origin of the Upside Down," actor Patrick Vaill, who plays young Dr. Brenner, said in the video.

"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," reads an official synopsis for the stage play. "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."

The synopsis promises that Stranger Things: The First Shadow "will take you right back to the beginning of the Stranger Things story – and may hold the key to the end," in advance of the highly anticipated fifth and final season of Netflix's hit science-fiction series.

The new adult cast includes Oscar Lloyd as Hopper, Isabella Pappas as Joyce and Christopher Buckley as the eventually doomed Bob.

And they were all instructed by director Stephen Daldry and co-director Justin Martin not to do "impressions" of Harbour, 48, Ryder, 52, and Astin, 52, as Lloyd told Variety for an interview published Friday.

“They want us to do our own take on the characters," he added.

And while she was afraid she wouldn't be able to "come anywhere close" to Ryder's portrayal, Pappas told the outlet, "I love the show, so it’s amazing to get to work on it, and I relate a lot to Joyce, so it’s a good fit for me to be playing her.”

Tickets for Stranger Things: The First Shadow, which officially opens Dec. 14, are on sale now at strangerthingsonstage.com.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.