The Duffers Say the STRANGER THINGS Spinoff Will Have "New Characters" and a "Clean Slate" - It's "So Different" From STAR WARS
The Duffer Brothers have been clear about the ending of their five season hit series Stranger Things. The pair recently sat down with Variety to explain that despite a spinoff in the works, this flagship series will be complete. “We do every last remaining thing we wanted to do with the Demogorgons and Mind Flayer and Vecna and the Upside Down and Hawkins and these characters,” Matt Duffer said. “This is a complete story. It’s done.”
So whatever the spinoff is, it won’t continue the story of any of the show’s characters. Nor do the brothers expect it to explore a larger narrative within the world of the first show, like the Marvel or Star Wars TV series have been doing on Disney+.
“It’s so different than something like Star Wars,” Matt said. “It doesn’t really work like that.” Instead, the spinoff will be part of the show’s “brand” and “style of storytelling” — “kids, adventures, sci-fi/fantasy, rather than increasingly expand what could become an insanely convoluted mythology.”
With the main spinoff idea, as well as any future ones, Ross said: “They’re going to live in a bit of a different world. There’s going to be connective tissue, but you’re almost anthologizing in a way. Because we’re not Star Wars. We can’t be like, ‘Oh, now we’re on this planet.’”
“You’re just too boxed in,” Matt added. “It starts to get frustrating from a storytelling perspective.”
The Duffers have developed the spinoff while working on Stranger Things Season 5, and the process “has been so fun,” Matt said. “You’re starting with new characters — it’s like clean slate. You’re not tied up into any knots. There’s something refreshing about it.
“The hope is you’re not just doing something to just do it,” he continued. “And Netflix has been surprisingly patient, although I think now, I feel that patience wearing thin a little bit with the show coming to an end. But they’re understanding.”
Hearing what the Duffers have to say about this spinoff is actually so exciting to me. I love the idea of new characters and an exciting new story instead of drudging up the same stuff we’ve already seen. The brothers have proven to be great storytellers, so lets see what else they have to show us!
The final season of Stranger Things kicks off on Thanksgiving Day, with the first four episodes, then episodes 5-7 on Christmas, and the grand finale on New Year’s Eve.