Stranger Things will be continuing with an animated spinoff series. The 1980s-set series has been a flagship program for Netflix since it originally premiered back in 2016. Following the adventures of the various generations of residents of the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, the supernatural fantasy-horror series evokes iconic 1980s properties from The Goonies and E.T. to Dungeons & Dragons and the works of Stephen King.
Netflix has just made a huge announcement ahead of Stranger Things season 5, which will be the final outing for the blockbuster series. Though the main branch of the show may be ending, the universe will be continuing on in a new animated spinoff series. The series will be produced by Stranger Things creators The Duffer Brothers and director Shawn Levy along with Dan Cohen and Eric Robles. Read the Duffer Brothers' statement about the project below:
We’ve always dreamed of an animated Stranger Things in the vein of the Saturday morning cartoons that we grew up loving, and to see this dream realized has been absolutely thrilling. We couldn’t be more blown away by what Eric Robles and his team have come up with -- the scripts and artwork are incredible, and we can’t wait to share more with you! The adventure continues…
A Stranger Things Animated Series Makes Perfect Sense
This new Stranger Things series isn't the first time that Netflix has explored an animated spinoff to one of their hit shows. They've previously dabbled with the 2021 movie The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, which followed the origin story of Geralt's mentor Vesemir. However, creating an animated wing of this universe makes more sense than any other property they have, considering the way the series is inundated in the pop culture of the 1980s.
The time period in which the show takes place was the heyday of animated spinoffs of popular franchises. Some of these were continuations of huge hits like The Real Ghostbusters, which ran from 1986 through 1991. However, the late 1980s and early 1990s were inundated with animated series of everything from Little Shop of Horrors and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi to Rambo, Robocop, and The Karate Kid.
It is currently unknown what members of the Stranger Things cast, if any, will return for the animated series. However, even if it strikes out in a completely different direction, keeping the retro atmosphere alive will be the key to keeping it feeling like an organic part of the universe. By making it an animated series, they've more or less guaranteed that this is going to be the case.
Source: Netflix