Stranger Things – Picture: Netflix
Following the release of season 4 of Stranger Things, Netflix announced that it would be committing even deeper to the franchise with the already announced fifth and final season and a new spin-off. What could the spin-off be about?
All we officially know about a spin-off is that it’s a) happening and b) that the plot is being “kept under wraps.”
We also know there’s a stage play in development, and the show is returning for a final season. The Duffer Brothers have hinted that it’ll be “100% different” to the main flagship series and won’t be featuring any of the “main” characters.
When the spin-off was announced, here’s what The Duffer Brothers said:
“There are still many more exciting stories to tell within the world of Stranger Things; new mysteries, new adventures, new unexpected heroes. But first we hope that you stay with us as we finish this tale of a powerful girl named Eleven and her brave friends, of a broken police chief and a ferocious mom, of a small town called Hawkins and an alternate dimension known only as the Upside Down. As always, we are grateful for your patience and support.”
The Brothers have also said, “The key for us is that (any spinoff) needs to feel like its own distinct thing, not that we’re just retreading what we’ve already done.”
Let us know what your idea for any Stranger Things spin-offs in the comments but before then, here are our guesses about where we could head:
Stranger Things Anime Spin-off
An easy guess as to where Stranger Things heads next is with a new anime series spin-off of some sort.
It’s an easy guess because nearly every major Netflix franchise, one way or another, has gotten an anime spin-off of some form. We’ve seen The Witcher, Altered Carbon and Bright all get the treatment in the past, and there’s no doubt Stranger Things would fit the format perfectly.
We had heard rumors a year or so ago about an anime series that was in active development. There wasn’t much known but it was under the working title of Stranger Things: Tokyo. Whether that will eventually make its way into
The good news is that we already have a small glimpse of what we could expect from an anime, thanks to the talented work of YouTuber Octopie.
Creel Family Spin-off
Tyner Rushing as Virginia Creel, Kevin L. Johnson as young Victor Creel and Livi Burch as Alice Creel
Number one, or Vecna as we eventually came to know him, began his life as a seemingly innocent boy that had incredible powers that eventually got passed over to El.
We got most of the backstory covered in Stranger Things season 4 but there’s certainly a lot more that could be unpacked here. From the family drama, other potential incidents, Victor’s additional encounters with Dr. Brenner, and was there anyone else in their family lineage with these powers? We’d love to see this explored more.
The Lost Sister Spin-off
Stranger Things Spin-off
Cast your mind back to Stranger Things season 2 and everyone remembers the infamous seventh episode. It saw Eleven ride off with a group of outcasts known as Freaks who possessed powers. The episode played out like a backdoor pilot with the main new character being Linnea Berthelsen as Kali.
The episode is one of the worst-reviewed episodes of the show and for most, it’s an episode most skip, but with a refreshed take on the characters and potentially a refined siloed storyline, could they redeem the freaks?
Anthology Horror Series
We still don’t know the repercussions of the giant Upside Down gate that was opened in the heart of Hawkins, Indiana, and what it means for the rest of the world.
A six-part series with each episode focusing on a different location around the world and the effects it has had would be an intriguing premise to explore (think Love, Death and Robots, Black Mirror, or Cabinet of Curiosities).
We could see a group of hunters in the woods of Siberia hunting a Demogorgon, a Demodog attack on a Japanese school, and maybe even new frightening creatures we’re yet to be introduced to.
Steve and Robin spin-off
Steve and Robin are among the best friendships in the entire series.
The chemistry between the two actors is incredible, and we always want to see more of the pair on screen together. We could easily see Steve and Robin traveling across the US investigating instances with the paranormal, the supernatural, and the Upside Down.
Dr. Brenner Prequel
Taking a step further back in time, a spin-off prequel could explore one of the most interesting and mysterious characters of the Stranger Things Universe, Dr. Martin Brenner.
We know that Vecna was the first subject of Hawkins’s lab. However, we do not know where Brenner’s expertise with subjects with psychokinetic abilities began.
Brenner is of the age where he may have served the US during WW2; given the number of experiments that German scientists were conducting to produce ‘super soldiers,’ it could have been the job of Brenner the US army to explore the German’s research into individuals with psychokinetic abilities.
Redditors have also been speculating spin-offs for the past few months and we’ve included some of their suggestions below:
- “A Bill Nye-esque science show with skits, starring Mr. Clarke, called Curiosity Doors”
- “an X-Files style show with an agency investigating all the other weird stuff going on in the Stranger Things world.”
- “Housewives of Hawkins, starring Karen Wheeler.”
What would you like to see from a Stranger Things spin-off? Let us know in the comments down below.
