Stranger Things Puzzle Tales (Used for Illustrative Purposes) – Picture: NEXT GAMES
The Stranger Things universe is expanding, with Netflix announcing a brand-new animated spin-off for 2023, set in the world of one of its biggest shows, in April. Now, two years later, the official title has been revealed: Stranger Things: Tales from ’85.
The Duffer Brothers, on behalf of Upside Down Pictures, are involved as executive producers on the new untitled animated series alongside Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen on behalf of 21 Laps.
In a statement on the new project upon its initial announcement in April 2023, The Duffer Brothers said:
“We’ve always dreamed of an animated Stranger Things in the vein of the Saturday morning cartoons that we grew up loving, and to see this dream realized has been absolutely thrilling. We couldn’t be more blown away by what 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…”
Netflix first announced spin-offs alongside the renewal of season 5 in 2022. Since then, there have been plenty of guesses about what’s to come, including many rumors surrounding an Eleven spinoff.
According to The Wrap (via Struniverse), concept art for the original series was shown during Next on Netflix: Animation Press Preview in June 2024. The images reportedly “showed kids in the Upside Down facing down fearsome creatures.”
Eric Robles will spearhead the project for Netflix and hold an executive producer credit. The well-known writer and animator is best known for creating Nickelodeon’s Fanboy and Chum Chum and co-creating the Nickelodeon and Netflix Original series Glitch Techs, which ran for two seasons.
Upon the unveiling of the official title for the new series, Matt and Ross Duffer have released a statement saying, “We’ve always dreamed of an animated Stranger Things in the vein of the Saturday morning cartoons that we grew up loving, and to see this dream realized has been absolutely thrilling.”
What’s on Netflix understands that Netflix has given a two-season upfront order for the new season, which has been operating under the working title of PROJECT MIRKWOOD. For Stranger Things diehards, you’ll know Mirkwood is the nickname given to a road in Hawkins that’s close to the Hawkins National Laboratory.
Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Matt Duffer said the spin-off would be “1,000% different” from the original and added it’d be a “story that connects to the Stranger Things world, but it really is more about how we’re telling that story.”
Robles posted the first look at the script for the new series on social media with the caption, “Stranger Things fans, do you copy? We have ourselves a series title.” One of the writers on the show, Jennifer Munro (Star Trek: Prodigy), posted soon after the news of the title’s release, “I cannot begin to tell you how hard this team has worked to make this show happen. So proud.
Who’s the animated studio behind the new Stranger Things Animated Series?
Flying Bark Productions’ recent projects
The animation studio Flying Bark Productions is behind the new series, boasting offices in Sydney and Los Angeles, and was founded 55 years ago in 1967. Flying Bark’s previous TV credits include:
- Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- Glitch Techs
- Marvel’s What If…?
- Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur
- Monkie Kid
The studio is also teaming up with Sony Pictures Animation for the upcoming Ghostbusters series, too!
Among the movie projects the studio has worked on are:
- Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie (2022)
- 100% Wolf
- Blinky Bill the Movie
- Maya the Bee Movie
Is this Stranger Things: Tokyo?
What’s currently unclear is whether the newly announced animated series is the same animated title we heard about in late 2022. We had been hearing the project referred to as an anime at that point, and since we had no plot information, it was unclear whether the two were separate projects or not. As a reminder, here’s what we heard about the plot of the project, which was reported to be a six-hour series: “An encounter with the Upside Down evolves into a grand adventure for video game-loving twin brothers living on the outskirts of 1980s Tokyo.”
Finally, you may recall that three years ago, Netflix posted on its Stranger Things YouTube channel titled Stranger Morning Cartoons. Perhaps this gives us an idea of a flavor of what’s to come?
For more on Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, keep it locked on What’s on Netflix Are you looking forward to Stranger Things: Tales From ’85? Let us know in the comments down below.
Rating: TV-14
