Posted in: Netflix, TV | Tagged: stranger things

Stranger Things Spinoff: "It's Moving"; Won't Be Anthology Series

Stranger Things creators Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer (cautiously) offered a few more details/insights into the upcoming live-action spinoff.

Well before Netflix's Stranger Things wrapped up its run after five seasons, Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer made it clear that the show's universe would continue on. Since that time, we've seen what the animated prequel Stranger Things: Tales From '85 has to offer – but what about the live-action spinoff? The Duffers had some interesting insights into what they're envisioning and their involvement near the end of last year (more on that below). Checking in with Josh Horowitz's Happy Sad Confused podcast, the Duffers reluctantly and cautiously offered some additional updates – but not before making it clear that they got into some "trouble" previously for offering too much about the spinoff. Here's a look at what we did learn:

"Stranger Things" Spinoff Won't Be Rushed: "I think we're just… we're trying… we're being very careful. We don't want to rush it. We don't want it to be anything but excellent."

"Stranger Things" Spinoff: "It's Moving": Though offering a "Maybe. Maybe" when asked if there was a showrunner in place, the Duffers added, "It's moving. I mean, it's moving. It's gonna… I think it's going to happen, but we just, you know, we're just like I said, trying not to rush it. We're trying. No one wants to make it just to make it. No one wants to just do it to continue Stranger Things. Like it has to be awesome or forget it. That's sort of everybody's mentality about it. But I think everyone's coming at it from the right space."

"Stranger Things" Spinoff Won't Be an Anthology: Though dodging the question about if "Stranger Things" will be in the title, the Duffers noted that the spinoff won't be an anthology series, but a straightforward series with a set cast.

"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, Matt Duffer revealed during a conversation with Deadline Hollywood, from back in November 2025. Ross Duffer offered, "I think he might have forgotten, though, honestly, because last time he brought it up, I was like, 'That's not what it is.' Maybe he was just being coy. I don't know." Matt added, "No, that's the funny thing, because everyone freaked out that he had revealed what the spin off was. I think he forgot. I actually need to talk to him about it, but anyway, 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."

Though they're moving on to Paramount, the Duffer brothers made it clear that they will be actively involved with the spinoff and that it's important that it does right by the original series and the fans. "The spinoff idea is something that Ross and I came up with that we're extremely excited about. It's quite different, though, than Stranger Things. So I think the key is that it's coming from a place of passion, whether it's from us or from somebody else. It's not an assignment. It's not forced like that. You've just seen that too many times," Matt Duffer shared. "The market, it's diminishing returns at a certain point. You want it to feel special when it comes out. I want, if something's coming out with a Stranger Things title on it, it's good, it's quality. So Ross and I are going to remain very, very involved, even though we're going to be at Paramount. In fact, we're busy working on the spin off idea right now."

If the franchise grows to become its own universe, fans can expect the Duffer Brothers to be there every step of the way. "We want to be intentional and very careful in terms of how we expand, in that we're not doing anything for the sake of doing it, for the sake of putting more Stranger Things out into the world. It has to be something that we're extremely excited about. The cartoon [Stranger Things: Tales From '85] was something that we brought to Netflix because we grew up watching The Real Ghostbusters and the Beetlejuice cartoon," Matt Duffer explained. "So we liked the idea of taking this and turning into an animated form. It's also nice because the kids can remain kids forever. So we thought that was cool to capture that sort of Saturday morning cartoon feel. The play [Stranger Things: The First Shadow] came from Steven Daldry."

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