For the fifth and final season of Stranger Things, creators Matt and Ross Duffer (as they explained in an interview for Variety’s Oct. 15 cover story) didn’t want to leave any major plot or character stories unfinished. “We did the Demogorgon, we did the Mind Flayer, we did Vecna, we did the Upside Down, we did Hawkins, we did everything we wanted to do with these characters,” said Matt Duffer. “This is a complete story. It’s over.”
This type of definitive statement only makes the Duffers’ plans for a “Stranger Things” spinoff show, first announced for summer 2022 after the release of “Stranger Things 4,” all the more interesting. That’s because, whatever the spin-off is, it doesn’t continue the stories of the show’s characters. The brothers also don’t expect the Star Wars TV series to explore larger stories within the world of the first show, as they have done on Disney+.
“It’s nothing like ‘Star Wars,'” Matt said. “That doesn’t really work.” Instead, the spinoff will become part of the show’s “brand” and “style of storytelling,” which calls it “kids, adventure, sci-fi/fantasy, rather than expanding on what could be an insanely complex mythology.”
Regarding major spin-off ideas and future ideas, Ross said: “They’re going to live in a slightly different world. There’s going to be connective tissue, but in a way it’s more like an anthology because we’re not ‘Star Wars.'” We can’t be like, ‘Oh, now we’re on this planet.’ ”
“You’re too outside the box,” Matt added. “It starts to get frustrating from a storytelling standpoint.”
The Duffers developed the spinoff while working on “Stranger Things 5,” and Matt said the process was “a lot of fun.” “I’m starting with a new character, and it’s like a blank slate. There’s no strings attached. There’s something new about it.
“I hope we’re not just doing something for the sake of doing something,” he continued. “And Netflix has been incredibly patient. Now that we’re nearing the end of the show, I feel like that patience is wearing thin. But they’ve been understanding.”
Ross said the Duffers will produce the spinoff series, have “significant creative involvement” and “help guide it,” but they will not be showrunners as they usher in their next era as filmmakers with their new deal with Paramount. “Hopefully I’ll write or direct something new by then.”
When asked about spinoffs in an interview, Netflix chief creative officer Bela Bajaria jumped in and asked, “Oh, what did they say?” She said she knows the Duffers want to do “justice to the show and the title” and “the idea is not just to do another show.”
The Duffers have kept the concept for the new series a secret. “They’ve been thinking about this for a long time,” Bajaria said. “So I’m really excited to see what it’s going to be, but I don’t know what it is yet!”
There doesn’t seem to be a schedule for a spin-off, Bajaria said with a laugh. When they are ready, we will be ready. ”
In fact, Netflix and the Duffers are already well into production on more Stranger Things. An animated spinoff, “Stranger Things: 1985,” developed by showrunner Eric Robles (creator of the Nickelodeon series “Fanboy & Chum Chum”) was announced at the Annecy Animation Festival in June. The series was the Duffers’ idea, Matt said, “because we grew up loving some of the comics that were based on our favorite movies, like ‘Beetlejuice’ and ‘Ghostbusters.'” They envisioned capturing the “throwback” spirit of those shows “in a more modern way,” similar to how the live-action series embraced the Steven Spielberg and Stephen King films of the 1980s.
This show does not have a release date yet. When speaking to Variety, the Duffers watched one episode in its entirety. Robles “knocked it out of the park,” Matt said. “It really feels like a show,” Ross said, adding that the animation style is similar to Netflix’s Emmy-winning series “Arcane,” but “it’s not as expensive as ‘Arcane.'”
“And that’s great, because kids can stay young forever,” Matt said. “We set them up to be the perfect season two age.”
If “Tales from ’85” or the spinoff series are successful, “Stranger Things” could remain on Netflix for quite some time.
Mothership Show executive producer and director Shawn Levy will also be involved in the upcoming production. “I’m excited to extend the longevity of Stranger Things storytelling. I’m not going to call it a ‘universe,’ because that would be offensive,” he said. Then he stopped. “‘STU’? Too soon? Damn, I know you’re going to use that!”
What the expanded world of Stranger Things will look like is up for debate. “What do you call something that’s not lame? Universe? Franchise?” Matt asked rhetorically. “I need something else.”
“What’s the ‘Strangerverse’?” Ross suggested. “I don’t know.”
