Stranger Things, after five seasons and almost a decade, has finally ended. On December 31, the last episode dropped on Netflix, marking the end of an era and giving so many television watchers a gaping hole to fill. The unique nature of the show, which is part of why it erupted in popularity, means not much will actually fill that hole. A spinoff might, though, and good news: there’s one coming.
What To Know About Stranger Things Spinoff Series
We know for sure there will be a Stranger Things spinoff, and no, that is not including the Tales of ’85 animated series coming soon to Netflix. This will be live-action, and it will have something to do with the events of the original show.
First and foremost, the new spinoff reportedly won’t feature the Upside Down. This makes sense since Eleven destroyed it. She may have only sealed off the connection to Hawkins, but it is heavily implied that the bridge between Hawkins and Dimension X is completely gone. Either way, it makes sense to leave it behind. We know everything there is to know about it.
Secondly, it will have entirely new characters and settings. We will not be going back to Hawkins, and we won’t see Mike Wheeler, Chief Hopper, Steve Harrington (which breaks my heart), Lucas Sinclair, Jonathan Byers, or anyone from the original show. Think of it as a new show set in the Stranger Things universe and nothing more.
The Duffer Brothers created the original show and worked as showrunners for all five seasons. They wrote and directed plenty, too. Naturally, they will be involved with this new show, but they’re not going to run it. Someone else will take the mantle.
A scene from the series finale hints at what it could be, and that has led to fan theories (more on that below). It is highly likely that the scene in question is when Henry/Vecna/001 got his powers. The Duffers hinted at it. There was a mysterious stone in a briefcase, and that connects back to the Broadway play. Could we connect the two even further with a deeper dive into the lore of Stranger Things? It’s possible.
Debunking Fan Theories
There are a couple of prominent theories about what the potential Stranger Things spinoff might be. Joyce and Hopper (SPOILER) are getting married and likely heading to Montauk, New York. This is significant because the Montauk Project inspired the show.
But this one isn’t going to happen. For one thing, the plot premise would be the same as the original. Hopper and Joyce live in a small town where weird things are happening to the local children. It’s not different enough to justify it, so Montauk is likely just an Easter egg.
The second theory is that a new story will follow Holly Wheeler, Derek Turnbow, and their group of friends. The final scene of Stranger Things Chapter 5 is that group playing Dungeons & Dragons for the first time, implying that they’ll take up the mantle.
This is more likely, but it’s also a long shot. They still live in Hawkins, and the Upside Down is gone. It’s been destroyed, so what otherworldly setting could possibly make sense? There’s no way Hawkins would also serve as a portal to a second alternate reality or dimension. There’s no big story to be told, at least not in any connecting way, about the younger group of friends.
Of course, given the tidbit that the new spinoff won’t star any original characters (Hopper, Joyce, Holly Wheeler) or Hawkins, both of those can be ruled out. Maybe they’re going to happen down the road, but this spinoff is going to be something else entirely.
Conclusion
While Stranger Things will be missed dearly by the masses, it’s probably for the best that it’s over. It ran its course, and it seemed as if it was running on fumes by the end of its five seasons. The world, however, is better when there’s something from that universe going on, so it’s good that there’s going to be a spinoff.
