Overview
When season five of Stranger Things arrives, it'll bring with it a big ending, wrapping up the Netflix hit for good after the next batch of episodes. Yes, everything from Succession to Barry is also saying farewell these days, but Stranger Things won't be completely dropping off the radar — it has spinoffs to slip into your streaming queue, including a just-announced new animated series.
Back in 2022 when Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer revealed that their sci-fi show was working towards its endgame, they also said that they had more stories to tell in this fictional — and sometimes Upside Down — realm. Instantly, we all knew what that meant. Netflix doesn't like letting go of its hits easily, after all, so the quest to find a way to keep wandering through this franchise was about as surprising as Jim Hopper's (David Harbour, Violent Night) usual gruff mood.
"Seven years ago, we planned out the complete story arc for Stranger Things. At the time, we predicted the story would last four to five seasons. It proved too large to tell in four, but — as you'll soon see for yourselves — we are now hurtling towards our finale. Season four will be the penultimate season; season five will be the last," the Duffers said at the time.
"There are still many more exciting stories to tell within the world of Stranger Things; new mysteries, new adventures and unexpected heroes," the Duffers continued.
Cue the upcoming Stranger Things cartoon, which doesn't yet have a name, but will boast the Duffer brothers as executive producers. Obviously, it's headed to Netflix.
"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 realised has been absolutely thrilling," the siblings said, announcing the new show.
There's no word yet on when the animated series will arrive, what it'll focus on and who'll be among its voices. If you're devoted to the OG cast, start crossing your fingers that some or all of Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown (Enola Holmes 2), Finn Wolfhard (Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio), Noah Schnapp (Waiting for Anya), Winona Ryder (The Plot Against America), Charlie Heaton (The Souvenir: Part II), Joe Keery (Free Guy), Gaten Matarazzo (The Angry Birds Movie 2), Caleb McLaughlin (Concrete Cowboy), Sadie Sink (The Whale), Natalia Dyer (Things Seen & Heard) and Maya Hawke (Do Revenge) are involved.
Netflix did just reveal that it's getting the Scott Pilgrim vs the World cast back together to voice an anime continuation of that beloved flick, after all.
There's no sneak peek at the animated Stranger Things series as yet, either, but you can check out the trailer for season four below:
The Stranger Things animated series doesn't yet have a release date, but we'll update you when one is announced. You can the OG series via Netflix.
Read our review of season four.
Images: courtesy of Netflix.