Stranger Things Spinoff Leaves the Lore Behind for a Bold New World
Think the Hawkins saga ends with season 5? Think again: Stranger Things isn’t closing the portal just yet, with more stories brewing beyond the finale.
Stranger Things is wrapping up its main run with season 5, but the Duffers aren't shutting the door on Hawkins for good. The show might be ending, the world isn't. There's a spin-off coming... eventually. What is it? Who's in it? Where is it set? They're not saying yet. Classic.
About that spin-off
In a new chat with Variety, the Duffer brothers confirmed they're not interested in ballooning the lore past the point of no return once season 5 is done. Matt made it clear they don't want to layer on endless mythology just because they can. Ross added that whatever comes next won't just be Stranger Things 2.0 — it'll live in a different space — but there will still be some connective DNA so it doesn't feel random.
The secrecy is so tight that even executive producer Shawn Levy isn't fully looped in, which is both funny and a little wild considering his title. He's on board to keep the story going, but he's allergic to the U-word.
"They've been very protective of spin-off talk... I'm excited to extend the storytelling life of Stranger Things — I'm not going to call it a 'universe,' because that would be obnoxious. The STU? Too soon? Shit, I know you're going to use that!"
Season 5 is long. Again.
Netflix has rolled out the runtimes for Volume 1, and yes, we're in for another marathon. Four episodes, all chunky:
- Episode 1: 1 hour 8 minutes
- Episode 2: 54 minutes
- Episode 3: 1 hour 6 minutes
- Episode 4: 1 hour 23 minutes
Release plan
Stranger Things season 5, Volume 1 lands November 26. Volume 2 hits December 25, and Volume 3 follows December 31. Three drops, one month. Clear your calendar, or at least your couch.