Why the ‘Stranger Things’ Spinoff Will Feature New Characters and a Fresh Start
LOS ANGELES — As Netflix’s flagship supernatural series Stranger Things prepares to wrap up its fifth and final season, its creators, Matt and Ross Duffer, are already looking ahead — not with nostalgia, but with a clean creative slate.
In a recent Variety cover story, the Duffer Brothers revealed that their highly anticipated Stranger Things spinoff won’t be a direct continuation of the stories fans have followed since 2016. Instead, it will introduce new characters and chart an entirely different course. That decision, they say, is deliberate — and it sets the series apart from other expanding franchises like Star Wars or the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“This is a complete story. It’s done,” Matt Duffer emphasized. “We do every last remaining thing we wanted to do with the Demogorgons, the Mind Flayer, Vecna, the Upside Down, and Hawkins.”
With that chapter closing, the Duffer Brothers are now embracing something new — and resisting the temptation to build out an endlessly sprawling mythology.
A Brand-New Direction — Not a Stranger Things Extended Universe
While Hollywood has become increasingly reliant on extended cinematic universes, the Duffer Brothers are resisting that path. Instead of layering on more narrative weight, the spinoff will capture the tone and spirit of Stranger Things — but without continuing its storylines.
“It’s so different than something like Star Wars,” Matt said. “It doesn’t really work like that. You’re just too boxed in. It starts to get frustrating from a storytelling perspective.”
Rather than hopping from character to character or location to location like in a galaxy far, far away, the Duffers envision something looser, almost anthological.
“They’re going to live in a bit of a different world,” added Ross. “There’s going to be connective tissue, but you’re almost anthologizing in a way.”
Freedom in the Unknown: “A Clean Slate”
For the Duffers, working on the spinoff alongside Stranger Things 5 has brought creative relief.
“You’re starting with new characters — it’s like a clean slate,” said Matt. “You’re not tied up into any knots. There’s something refreshing about it.”
They admit that Netflix has been patient — but with the final season of Stranger Things looming, that patience is starting to wear thin. Still, both parties appear committed to getting the spinoff right, not just fast.
Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria confirmed that even she doesn’t know all the details. “They’ve been thinking about this for a long time,” she said, expressing faith in the Duffers’ vision. “I’m excited about what it’s going to be — but I don’t know what that is yet!”
What We Do Know: Tales From ’85 and More
Although the live-action spinoff remains tightly under wraps, Netflix is already expanding the franchise in another direction: animation.
An upcoming series titled Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, developed by Fanboy & Chum Chum creator Eric Robles, is already in the works. The Duffers pitched the idea themselves, inspired by Saturday morning cartoons they grew up with — including Beetlejuice and Ghostbusters.
“The kids can stay young forever,” said Matt. “We set it when they’re that perfect Season 2 age.” According to Ross, the animation will resemble Netflix’s award-winning series Arcane, but on a smaller budget.
The Duffers have seen a full episode already. “It really feels like the show,” Matt said. “Robles knocked it out of the park.”
What’s Next: A New Era Beyond Hawkins
Though the Duffers will help guide the upcoming spinoff creatively, they won’t serve as showrunners. Instead, they’ll shift focus to new filmmaking projects under their deal with Paramount.
“We’ll hopefully be writing and directing something new in the meantime,” said Ross.
Executive producer Shawn Levy, who has directed several Stranger Things episodes, will also play a key role in what comes next. Though he hesitates to label the future of the series a “universe,” he’s enthusiastic about extending the story’s legacy.
“I’m not going to call it a ‘universe,’ because that would be obnoxious,” Levy joked. “The STU? Too soon?”
Still, as Stranger Things prepares to leave Hawkins behind, the Duffers are less concerned with building a franchise and more interested in telling the kinds of stories that made the original series resonate in the first place: a blend of horror, heart, and nostalgia, wrapped in a fresh mystery.
“The hope is you’re not just doing something to just do it,” Matt Duffer said. “It has to feel right.”
Goodbye Hawkins, Hello Unknown
While many fans may be sad to say goodbye to Eleven, Mike, Dustin, and the rest of the Hawkins crew, the Duffer Brothers are betting that a new story — with new faces and a new tone — will keep the Stranger Things magic alive.
The spinoff won’t be a sequel. It won’t be a prequel. It will be something else entirely. And in the Duffer Brothers’ eyes, that’s exactly why it just might work.
