Sci-Fi Bulletin: Exploring the Universes of SF, Fantasy, Horror and Spy-fi!

With Stranger Things’ final season approaching at last, the Duffer Bros have been talking about bringing Netflix’s first legitimate monster hit into land. Alasdair Stuart checked it out.

There’s a massive interview in Variety where they honestly come over very well. It’s common, in this era of ‘I, a difficult yet brilliant individual white dude can make ART, and no one else may do or help because they do not understand MY PROCESS’ to brace for impact with a piece like this. So seeing them talk about their writers’ room, the pressure and the responsibility they feel is honestly pretty refreshing.

There’s also some interesting stuff about what to expect, and I pulled a couple of quotes out:

“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,” adds Matt. “This is a complete story. It’s done.”

That’s to be commended but it’s also, if not strictly true then certainly a little more complicated than it seems. While the show is finishing and the Duffers are off to work with Paramount, they’re also still going to be a major part of Netflix’s upcoming slate.

‘Two new shows from Upside Down Pictures will premiere on the streamer in the first half of 2026 – “The Boroughs” (about seniors in a retirement community combating the supernatural) and “Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen” (a horror-filled week leading up to a wedding) – which, if successful, would be ongoing series they’d continue to executive produce.’

This is the first I’ve heard of either of these and honestly, they both sound great. ‘Something Very Bad’ sounds particularly good fun, and it’s suggested that the show is going to unfold in real time or with an episode a day. Then there’s Tales From ’85:

‘The animated offshoot “Stranger Things: Tales From ’85,” currently without a release date, is set during the winter after the events of the second season. That’s ideal, Matt says, “because the kids can stay young forever.”

For a show that’s taken infamous amounts of heat for how much its central cast has aged, this is a smart move. It’s also, although that’s not said out loud, something which could be done more than once…

Finally, there’s the spinoff.

‘Matt reiterates that they have no desire to “increasingly expand what could become an insanely convoluted mythology” after Season 5. Instead, another “Stranger Things” show, Ross says, would “live in a bit of a different world,” but “there’s going to be connective tissue.” Yes, they’ve been imagining that world — but no, they aren’t telling anyone, including their closest collaborators, about it yet.

“They’ve been very protective of spinoff talk, and I understand that the Matt-Ross bubble is sacred,” Levy says. “I’m excited to extend the storytelling life of ‘Stranger Things’ — I’m not going to call it a ‘universe,’ because that would be obnoxious.” He pauses. “The ‘STU’? Too soon? Shit, I know you’re going to use that!”’

So the spin-off is in motion but not fully developed yet. And honestly, again,  great. If the last five years have taught us anything it’s that art is always better when it’s given the time it needs and Netflix is to be commended for letting them have that time. And when was the last time it felt like we could commend Netflix for anything?

It’s a great piece and there’s a ton more at the link. In the meantime, Volume 1 of the final season is four episodes long and releases on November 26th. Volume 2 is three episodes long and will release on Christmas and the final episode will release on New Year’s Eve.