The Stranger Things universe is set to expand even as the main series concludes, with the animated spinoff Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 slated for a 2026 Netflix debut. Co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer have confirmed that the new series is entirely separate from the events of the upcoming final season and requires no prior setup.
The spinoff is set between the show’s second and third seasons, a period chosen specifically by the creators. “We like that age of the kids, and that we could pick an age and have them frozen at that age,” Matt Duffer explained. “These animated versions of the characters are doing what we wish was possible with our kids, which is that they are frozen in time.” He added that the goal was to “evoke the feeling of a Saturday morning cartoon.”
Matt Duffer noted the creative team, who grew up on animated adaptations like The Real Ghostbusters and the Beetlejuice cartoon, wanted to create a similar companion for their own show. He described the project as a blend of old and new, taking a classic concept and updating it with modern technology. Praising showrunner Eric Robles’s work, Duffer said the series “looks absolutely gorgeous” and “very much feels like Stranger Things.”
Set in Hawkins, Indiana, during the winter of 1985, Tales from ’85 follows Eleven and her friends as they investigate a new paranormal mystery terrorizing their town. The voice cast features Brooklyn Davey Norstedt as Eleven, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport as Max, Luca Diaz as Mike, Ej (Elisha) Williams as Lucas, Braxton Quinney as Dustin, Ben Plessala as Will, and Brett Gipson as Hopper. Odessa A’zion, Janeane Garofalo, and Lou Diamond Phillips are also among the additional voice cast.
Ross Duffer added that the animated format offers a gateway for new, younger viewers. “It allows for a younger audience who maybe can’t see the flagship show to be able to enjoy these characters, and then when they get older, they can jump to the show.”
The final season of Stranger Things is scheduled for a three-part release. Volume 1, consisting of four episodes, arrives on November 26, followed by the three-episode Volume 2 on Christmas Day. The series finale will be released on New Year’s Eve.
