Stranger Things
Credit: Netflix
Netflix just revealed a brand new show set in the Stranger Things universe that’s set to release after the end of Season 5.
The new series is called Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 and is set between the events of Stranger Things 2 and 3. The new show is being produced by Eric Robles along with co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer.
The catch? It’s an animated series rather than the live-action we’ve come to expect from Stranger Things.
“With animation there’s really no limits,” co-creator Ross Duffer said in a new first-look asset released today, which just so happens to be Stranger Things Day. “Eric and his team can just go wild … and they have.”
The logline reads: “Welcome back to Hawkins in the stark winter of 1985, where the original characters must fight new monsters and unravel a paranormal mystery terrorizing their town in Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, an epic new animated series.”
While the original characters are returning, a new cast of voice actors is taking on the roles. These include:
- Brooklyn Davey Norstedt as Eleven
- Jolie Hoang-Rappaport as Max
- Luca Diaz as Mike
- Elisha “EJ” Williams as Lucas
- Braxton Quinney as Dustin
- Ben Plessala as Will
- Brett Gipson as Hopper
Netflix also released two new images for Stranger Things: Tales From ’85. The first shows the young flashlight-wielding Hawkins heroes:
Stranger Things: Tales from ’85
Credit: Netflix
The second reveals some kind of Venus flytrap-like Upside Down monster:
Stranger Things: Tales from ’85
Credit: Netflix
I’m always curious how these prequels will work. A good prequel, like Andor or Better Call Saul, adds depth and richness to both the fictional world and the stories that preceded it, while keeping audiences on their toes despite knowing what happens to many of the characters. A lot of prequels, however, fall flat because of that very issue. We know what happens to the Hawkins kids, or at least we will before this show comes out in 2026.
Hopefully it’s good, and hopefully this means that more Stranger Things stories are on the horizon, even if the story of Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo), Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin), Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink), Jim Hopper (David Harbour), Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder), Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton), Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer), Steve Harrington (Joe Keery), Robin Buckley (Maya Hawke) and Erica Sinclair (Priah Ferguson) will come to an end in Season 5.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2025/11/06/stranger-things-is-returning-after-season-5-but-theres-a-catch/
