Stranger Things will continue after the Netflix series ends in four major ways.
For many years, Stranger Things has been among Netflix's biggest original series, telling a thrilling, supernatural tale. While that story will end this year with Season 5, Netflix doesn't seem quite ready to let its most successful franchise go.
Netflix Confirms More Stranger Things Release Plans After Season 5
Stranger Things fans will already be well aware the Netflix series has been renewed for a fifth and final season to conclude the tale. The official premiere date has yet to be confirmed, but a recent update may help shed more light on when Stranger Things Season 5 will premiere on Netflix.
The renewal was announced in February 2022, at which time the series' creators, the Duffer Brothers, teased there are "many more exciting stories" still to be told (via Deadline). That said, they asked fans first to stick around as they "finish this tale" that has been told over five seasons:
“There are still many more exciting stories to tell within the world of Stranger Things: new mysteries, new adventures, new unexpected heroes. But first we hope you stay with us as we finish this tale.”
The statement seemingly teased plans to continue the Stranger Things franchise beyond Season 5. Fast forward to July 2022, just days after the Stranger Things 4 premiere, that only became more likely as the Duffer Brothers formed Upside Down Productions and committed to multiple new projects as Netflix.
As reported by Deadline, the multi-year deal included projects such as The Talisman and Death Note, along with several Stranger Things projects, several of which have already been revealed by various means.
More news on the spin-offs could arrive later this year as Hopper actor David Harbour previously told GQ that updates on potential follow-ups could arrive "as soon as the show ends, or maybe six months before it ends."
The Stranger Things Saga Continues in Live-Action
When the Duffer Brothers landed their Netflix deal, a live-action Stranger Things spin-off was confirmed to be in development based on an "original idea" from the duo.
In a May 2022 interview with Variety, the Stranger Things creators confirmed they had an idea for a spin-off and they think everyone "will be surprised when they hear the concept" because it will be "very, very different:"
“We do have an idea for a spinoff that we’re super excited about … but we haven’t told anyone the idea yet, much less written it. We think everyone — including Netflix — will be surprised when they hear the concept, because it’s very, very different. But 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 live-action spin-off will be produced under Upside Down Pictures, 21 Laps, and Netflix based on an original story from the Duffers. No release window has been revealed as all the focus is presumably on Season 5 right now, but development will hopefully pick up in the next year once the flagship series is complete.
An Animated Stranger Things Adventure (Or Two)
Netflix confirmed on the official Tudum blog in April 2023 that a Stranger Things animated series is in the works from the Duffer Brothers. The franchise creators teased their dream of a Stranger Things series "in the vein of the Saturday morning cartoons that [they] grew up loving."
The series will be produced by the Duffers' Upside Down Pictures, Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen's 21 Laps, and Eric Robles' Flying Park Productions. The brothers praised the work of the latter saying they "couldn't be more blown away" with Robles and his team's work and calling the scripts and artwork "incredible."
In comparing the spin-off to traditional Saturday morning classics, the Duffer Brothers may be indicating the show will follow an adventure of the week format instead of telling one interconnected tale across a season like Stranger Things.
A report from What's on Netflix stated the series is codenamed Project Mirkwood and has a two-season commitment, meaning this definitely won't be a one-and-done.
But that might not be the only animated Stranger Things spin-off on the way as What's on Netflix also reported an anime series will explore a "grand adventure for video-game-loving twin brothers on the outskirts of 1980s Tokyo:"
“An encounter with the Upside Down evolves into a grand adventure for video game-loving twin brothers living on the outskirts of 1980s Tokyo.”
The What's on Netflix report referred the the anime series as the "first" Stranger Things spin-off, but it's unclear if this is the same series that was announced.
Stranger Things - Live on Stage
As fans await more news on Stranger Things Season 5 and the Netflix spin-offs, a new tale in the supernatural world has already begun. Stranger Things: The First Shadow is a stageplay playing now at the Phoenix Theater in London's West End and will open at Broadway's Marquis Theater in April.
The play - which opened in December 2023 - was written by Kate Trefry based on a story from her, the Duffer Brothers, and Jack Thorne, while it is produced by Sonia Friedman and directed by Stephen Dalfry.
Thorne is best known as the writer behind Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the stage sequel to the seven-book franchise which was reportedly once set to receive a big-screen adaptation that has since been cast aside for the Max reboot.
The First Shadow takes place before the Netflix series in 1959's Hawkins, and it features younger versions of Jim Hopper, Joyce Byers (then Maldonado), Bob Newby, Dr. Brenner, and Henry Creel before he became Vecna.
Trefry told SFX Magazine in November 2023 (via Games Radar) that watching The First Shadow before Season 5 would grant a "deeper understanding" of the Netflix show's conclusion, but was clear it would still "make sense" regardless:
"There are referential sequences and imagery and callbacks and flashbacks to the events of the play in 'Stranger Things' Season 5 that will still make sense to you if you don’t see the play, but you’ll have a deeper understanding of them if you do. It’s in conversation with the seasons prior and the season to come. It really informs everything that you have seen and will see."
The writer clarified how the play grants a "different perspective" on Creel's backstory and origins as Vecna that will help audiences "understand why he is the way he is" going into Season 5.
More Wild Stranger Things Stories in Comics
Alongside the Netflix show, more Stranger Things tales have been told on the pages of Dark Horse Comics that further build on the universe. Most recently, the comic publisher brought back Joseph Quinn's Eddie Muson with a Season 4 prequel that explained his rise as the Hellfire Club's leader.
Other tales recounted have included Will Byers' fight for survival in the Upside Down, the gang's first time playing Dungeons and Dragons, and the discovery of a treasure map left by the deceased Bob Newby.
While most of these comics have expanded on the Stranger Things universe, Dark Horse has also told some whacky, non-canonical tales. One of these was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles X Stranger Things, which took the Hawkins kids to New York City where they met the famous turtles and some of their supporting characters.
As these new issues have been released every year since 2018, the Netflix series finale likely won't be the end for Stranger Things at Dark Horse, with more comics possibly continuing to drop for years to come.
As these comics have jumped around the Stranger Things timeline, these could continue filling gaps in the storylines and bringing back characters unlikely to return on screen for one reason or another.
Stranger Things will return for Season 5 on Netflix in late 2025.
