Stranger Things may be nearing its conclusion, but don’t pack up your Dungeons & Dragons gear just yet, because Netflix has officially given the green light to a mysterious spinoff series. While major plot details are being kept firmly locked in the vault, the streaming giant confirmed that the beloved world the Duffer Brothers created is poised to live on. Still, the question remains: are we headed back to Hawkins with a familiar face, or is a completely new, terrifying corner of the Upside Down about to be revealed? We’ve gathered every single confirmed detail about what comes next, and you won’t want to miss a single one of them.
When was the Stranger Things spinoff announced?
In a July 2022 episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Stranger Things creators Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer revealed that they are working on a spinoff series with Netflix. That spinoff, alongside a Stranger Things stage play, was confirmed by the streaming giant in the same month in a series of tweets detailing the Duffer Brothers’ upcoming projects under their production company, Upside Down Pictures.
A live-action Stranger Things spin-off series based on an original idea by The Duffer Brothers.
— xᴉlɟʇǝu (@netflix) July 6, 2022
What’s the Stranger Things spinoff about?
The Duffer Brothers are keeping the premise of the spin-off under wraps, but they did say that it won’t be similar to Stranger Things.
“It is 1000 percent different from [Stranger Things]. It is not following [any of the main characters],” the duo said. “I’ve read these rumors that there’s gonna be an Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) spinoff, that there’s gonna be a Steve (Joe Keery) and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) spinoff, or that it’s another number [from Dr. Brenner’s lab]. That’s not interesting to me because we’ve done all that. We’ve spent I don’t know how many hours exploring all of that. So it’s very different.”
As to how the spinoff will connect to the original series, the Duffer Brothers said: “It shares a connection with Stranger Things, and the most connective tissue is the storytelling sensibility of it. There is a story that connects to Stranger Things.”
In May 2022, when the spinoff is not yet official, the Duffer Brothers wrote in an emailed interview with Variety that they “think everyone — including Netflix — will be surprised when they hear the concept” for the spinoff “because it’s very, very different.”
However, much to their disbelief, one of the original cast members of Stranger Things figured out what the spinoff will be about. “Somehow Finn Wolfhard — who is one crazy smart kid — correctly guessed what it was going to be about. But aside from Finn, no one else knows!” the siblings said at the time.
During an interview in October 2025, the Duffer Brothers opened up a bit more about the upcoming spinoff, emphasizing once again that it’s being crafted as its own independent project. Matt explained to Variety, “It’s so different than something like Star Wars. It doesn’t really work like that.” Instead of branching into what they described as “an insanely convoluted mythology,” the creators said the new series will live under the broader Stranger Things brand, drawing on familiar elements like kids, high-stakes adventures, and sci-fi/fantasy themes.
Matt also noted the creative freedom this direction offers, saying, “You’re starting with new characters. It’s like [a] clean slate. You’re not tied up into any knots. There’s something refreshing about it.”
By November 2025, the brothers revealed that the spinoff was officially shifting into the next phase. Speaking with Deadline, Matt confirmed, “We are moving forward with it. Netflix, they finally know what it is. We held it. They were so frustrated. We just would not tell them. Finn [Wolfhard] guessed what it was. So he was the only one who knew. Now everybody at Netflix knows. They’re very excited behind it there. I’m really excited about the team we’ve assembled that I can’t talk about without potentially getting into trouble, but we’ll put out more information soon. We’re trying to get it to go pretty quickly. So hopefully it’s gonna happen soon.”
Are we going to see familiar faces?
Fans hoping for a heavy dose of returning characters may want to temper expectations. Several core cast members could potentially pop up in cameo form, but the likelihood of them taking on major or ongoing roles appears slim.
Even so, some of the actors haven’t completely closed the door. Wolfhard, who plays Mike Wheeler, shared with Digital Spy back in May 2022 that he’s open to returning under the right circumstances, saying, “I think if it was in 10 years or something like that, and there was a movie or a limited series, I think that’d be kind of cool.”
His co-star Charlie Heaton offered a similar sentiment — though with more hesitation — explaining that it feels too soon for him to jump back into a new storyline within the same universe. As Heaton, who portrays Jonathan Byers, put it: “It’d be kind of weird to have a spinoff [now], you know?”
Who will helm the Stranger Things spinoff?
With the Duffer Brothers juggling several creative ventures, it makes sense that they’re actively searching for someone who can take the lead on the Stranger Things spinoff. During their appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the pair explained, “Hopefully we find that right person to pass the baton to while we go on to do new stuff.”
Matt went on to clarify why they won’t simply direct the first episode and walk away, noting, “Even the idea of Ross and I, say, doing a pilot and leaving it, it just feels silly to me. You really need to be there from the beginning to end. I think we need to find a partner to help us with that.”
According to Deadline, the Duffers’ production company, Upside Down Pictures, already has a packed slate that includes a live-action adaptation of Death Note, an original project from Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, and a series based on The Talisman, the 1984 novel by Stephen King and Peter Straub.
When will the Stranger Things spinoff come out?
The upcoming live-action Stranger Things spinoff — still operating without an official title — has no confirmed release date just yet. However, the Duffer Brothers have indicated that development is moving at a brisk pace, hinting that fans might not be in for an extended wait.
While that project continues to take shape, viewers can look forward to Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, an animated companion series slated for a 2026 debut. Set in the winter of 1985, it will revisit Hawkins during the period between Seasons 2 and 3 of the flagship show.
Sources: Elle, Variety, Digital Spy