Forget Hawkins for a minute. Netflix has ordered “Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure,” a live-action Stranger Things prequel set to premiere in 2028, and I’ll say it: this is the first spinoff that actually made me sit up.
The news dropped Friday, Nov. 6, as part of Netflix’s Stranger Things Day celebration. That’s the annual fan holiday marking the night Will Byers vanished in 1983. Smart timing, since the fans are the whole point.
The move also fits a streamer that keeps squeezing its biggest franchises, as we noted when Netflix raised prices again.
What we know about the Stranger Things prequel
Not a lot, and that’s by design. The teaser points to Marion, Nevada, on April 19, 1955. Deadline reports that this puts the story well before the original series. It also lands before the stage play “Stranger Things: The First Shadow.”
Netflix says the characters are all new. However, no plot details have been revealed beyond the time and place. The original stars are not expected to return, but that is an outlet’s reading of the “new characters” description, not a Netflix statement.
So is it a Vecna origin story? Does it involve Area 51? Some outlets are connecting those dots (the internet never met a dot it didn’t want to connect). That is inference from the setting, the teaser and earlier comments from Matt Duffer. Even so, Netflix hasn’t confirmed any of it.
Who is making the Other Worlds series
Kate Trefry is co-creator, showrunner and executive producer. She is a longtime Stranger Things writer who also wrote the stage play, according to TheWrap. Matt and Ross Duffer developed the series with her.
Joe Wright, the BAFTA and Golden Globe-winning director, will helm the first three episodes. Production is set for New Mexico, per ABC News.
Here’s the twist. The Duffers have left Netflix for Paramount, but they are still executive producers on this one, Engadget reports. In other words, they may have changed addresses, but they aren’t walking away from their own universe.
“We’ve been dreaming of Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure for many years now, and to see it become a reality is surreal and exhilarating,” the brothers said. They also promised something “thrillingly fresh, with a new setting.”
Here’s the thing about this Stranger Things Netflix prequel
The original show ended its five-season run on Dec. 31, 2025. Netflix isn’t letting that audience wander off. The Upside Down, it seems, has not filed for retirement.
The franchise already includes an animated series, “Tales From ’85,” a stage play, books and Netflix House experiences. A 1950s prequel adds a new corner of the map. Netflix is also leaning on familiar faces elsewhere, as the Peaky Blinders first look with Charlie Heaton shows.
Jinny Howe, Netflix’s Head of Scripted Series for the US and Canada, said the show “has always belonged to the fans.” That’s the pitch, and it’s a smart one. Fans have already lived through the Upside Down. As a result, they’ll want to know where it came from.
Still, don’t clear your calendar yet. Netflix hasn’t announced an exact premiere date, a cast or an episode count. “2028” is a year, not a date. If you were hoping to binge this next summer, you’ll need a lot of patience.
So who plays the new heroes, and who plays the villain? The whole fandom will be asking until 2028.
