Stranger Things may have come to an end, but what do we know so far about its new spinoff? Find out all below.
The hit Netflix series came to a conclusion with its two-hour season five finale on New Year’s Eve, in which the heroic group of friends came together one final time to defeat the evil Vecna.
That final episode proved to be controversial, with some fans disappointed that Millie Bobby Brown’s character Eleven’s fate remained ambiguous, while others subscribed to the now-debunked Conformity Gate theory, which speculated that a surprise final episode was in the works to undo some of the revelations of the finale.
The final episode also made waves musically, with streams of Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ and ‘When Doves Cry’ more than doubling on Spotify after their inclusion in the episode. Iron Maiden have since celebrated their track ‘The Trooper’ being included, while David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ has also seen a huge streaming surge.
One of the stars of the show Randy Havens debunked a theory last week that there is an unreleased cut of the fifth season. “There is no Snyder Cut of the show, please don’t believe everything some random ass tells you on the internet,” he said.
The Duffer brothers, meanwhile, have admitted that they wish they hadn’t done any interviews explaining the final episode. “I really shouldn’t have done any of these postmortem interviews” Matt Duffer said. “I am not in a good place. Like, why the hell did we do any of them yesterday is beyond me. I’m, like, fried. I was getting over the flu. So, anyone mad at any answers we gave you yesterday, just cut me some slack.”
Everything we know about the Stranger Things spinoff
A live-action spinoff of Stranger Things has been reported to be in development since 2023, with Finn Wolfhard describing it last year as being “like David Lynch’s Twin Peaks”. He told Variety that it would be “sort of an anthology” based on the “mythology of the Upside Down”.
Ross Duffer also told the same publication that Wolfhard had been the only person to correctly guess the theme of the spinoff. “Nobody – not Netflix, not any of the producers, not any of the directors, not any of the actors – nobody else has figured out what the spinoff is. Finn figured out, which is pretty remarkable. We’ve mind-melded with this kid a bit.”
The director more recently told The Hollywood Reporter that they were “very early days on a live-action spinoff”, but clarified that it would not involve the characters from the main show.
“It’s a different decade and different characters, but of course, still connected to the Stranger Things universe,” he explained. “It’s an idea we’ve had for years and something we’re just really excited and passionate about. We won’t be showrunning that show, but we’ll be heavily involved. So, as the new year comes around, we’re going to start spending more time on that. Hopefully it’s something announced soon-ish.”
In a more recent Hollywood Reporter interview, Matt Duffer said the new show will “explore new characters and a new mythology”, but will be “telling a story in the spirit of Stranger Things.”
When pressed on the specifics of the show, Matt added: “I’ve been pinned down and forced to blow this already, so I might as well tell you. There’s lingering questions about the rock and where the rock came from [in Henry’s story in the finale], and the scientist and all of that. Because we had said that there is something in the finale that is going to connect to the spinoff. The spinoff is not about rocks or mining the rocks, but I would say that’s the loose end that’s not tied up that will be tied up.”
“But ultimately, and we have said this before, but I guess to reiterate, it is an entirely new mythology. This spinoff does connect and will answer some of the lingering questions. It’s not specifically about the Mind Flayer or the Upside Down, but hopefully it provides some answers to at least those lingering questions related to Henry’s memory.”
There is also a separate animated spinoff coming, titled Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85. It is also being executive produced by the Duffer brothers and will take place between the second and third seasons of the main show. It is scheduled to premiere on Netflix later this year.