What next for Stranger Things after the end of the original series?

Goodbye Stranger Things. Long live the Stranger Things Universe! The franchise is just getting started on Netflix. And here is already the program for the sequel…

The portal is closed…for now.

The original series is closed, but the Hawkins universe will not disappear in The Upside Down. Netflix intends to keep the Stranger Things brand alive and establish a lasting franchise, with several spin-off projects. Including a live-action series, already in development!

“We want to continue the universe of Stranger Things and we are currently writing a spin-off, which will not include any of the characters, nor Hawkins, nor the Upside Down, nor even the 1980s. It will clearly have the DNA of Stranger Things, but it will also be very different,” confide Matt and Ross Duffer to Première (to read in the Special Edition currently on newsstands and on sale online).

Welcome to the Strangerverse!

What name will this extended universe take? For the moment, nothing has been decided. “How do you call it without being corny: a universe? A franchise?” asks Matt Duffer. “And why not the Strangerverse?” his brother replies.

Above all, we do not yet know precisely what this Stranger Things spin-off will be about, but the Duffers have already leaked a clue in Entertainment Weekly: it will revolve around a question that has obsessed fans since the finale: what is this luminous rock substance that little Henry Creel discovered in the briefcase of the man he killed in a cave in the early 1950s? Is there a precise definition of what was actually in that briefcase?

“Yes, we have one,” promise the Duffers, who deliberately keep the answer for later. “That’s the only thing we left a question mark for. Something that, in theory, will be explained later. It was this tiny little crack in the door that we wanted to leave open.”

Where does this mysterious rock seen in the finale come from? And who really is this scientist?

This question intrigues fans — “and that’s a good thing,” smile the creators. “Because it will be at the heart of the next spin-off series from Stranger Things. There is no question of telling a story around a stone or a mine. The objective is rather to explore the origin of this element. I do not want to mislead people by making them believe that this is the main subject of the spin-off. The series will provide answers, but above all it will develop its own mythology. It will be something very different. It is not a spin-off centered on the Mind Flayer. I don’t want to create false expectations, but for those who are frustrated by not knowing where this scientist came from, how he ended up in this cave, or what this glowing rock is…all of this will eventually be explained.”

The two creators also promise increased involvement: “We will be very involved, creatively and in depth, in the spin-off of Stranger Things. It is a story that we imagined ourselves, even if we will not be the showrunners. We will remain present on a daily basis. We will also resume work on it at the beginning of January.”

For the moment, no casting or filming date have been announced. No broadcast is expected before the end of 2027 — more likely 2028.

The Chronicles of 1985 to wait

Before discovering a new story set in the universe of Stranger Things, a cartoon will extend the pleasure with Eleven & co. Scheduled for Netflix in 2026, The Chronicles of 1985 will bring together the gang we know.

Set during the harsh winter of 1985, the story takes place between the events of seasons 2 and 3. The Hawkins gang will face new monsters, supported by a new face: Nikki, a tough teenager with a shaved head and a punk hairstyle.

Creator Eric Robles explains that he was inspired by 1980s cartoons from successful fantasy films, such as Beetlejuice (developed by Tim Burton and broadcast from 1989 to 1991) or The Real Ghostbusters (adaptation of Ghostbusters, broadcast from 1986 to 1991). Saturday morning series that are sometimes surprisingly dark and scary.

The final design, however, will move away from these references to adopt a CGI style reminiscent of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Arcane, “but much less expensive”. The characters were drawn by Meybis Ruiz Cruz, the monsters – pumpkins, zombies and even a sharp-toothed snow shark – by Carlos Huante, while the Australian studio Flying Bark is responsible for the animation. The Duffer brothers supervise the project from afar.

Scheduled for 2026, the exact release date remains to be determined.