Stranger Things is getting an animated midquel, which neatly sidesteps the problem of aging actors.
Stranger Things is back, baby! And boy, wasn’t that quick, considering the two-hour series finale only hit Netflix yesterday. There was a time when you’d breathe, rest on your laurels a bit, have a think about the future. But not in today’s fast-burn, content-churn world, ya don’t! To that end, Netflix is giving us the animated spin-off Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 at some point in 2026, and they’ve released the first images from said cartoon.
Set between the second and third seasons of the original, live action Stranger Things, the new animated version drops us into a wintry, snowbound Hawkins, Indiana, where Eleven, Mike, Will, Lucas, Dustin, and Max “…must fight new monsters and unravel a paranormal mystery terrorizing their town in an epic new animated series.” So, not a lot of plot info there, which is as expected.
And though we’ll be seeing a lot of familiar faces, don’t expect to hear too many new voices, as none of the principal cast are returning for the spin-off. Instead, we have Brooklyn Davey Norstedt as Eleven, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport as Max, Luca Diaz as Mike, Elisha “EJ” Williams as Lucas, Braxton Quinney as Dustin, Benjamin Plessala as Will, and Brett Gipson as Hopper.
We do have a few known quantities turning up in supporting roles, though, including Odessa A’zion, who was recently in the weird ping pong dramedy, Marty Supreme; ’90s mainstay Janeane Garofalo (Reality Bites, Mystery Men); and ’80s veteran Lou Diamond Phillips (La Bamba, Young Guns). No word as to which characters they’ll be lending their lungs to, though.
“We couldn’t be more blown away by what [showrunner] 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,” the Duffers told Netflix.
Check out the first pics and judge for yourself.
Stranger Things is streaming on Netflix now.
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