The next shadow
To date, that passion has been buttressed by the promise that more Stranger Things episodes are inching their way towards the Netflix homepage. Once the series finale airs, though, future in-canon stories are certain to be made and consumed in other media.
The streamer has announced one spin-off show, the animated anthology Tales From 85— which will screen first-look footage at June’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival—with others rumored to be in the works. Beyond that, the show’s partnership with Dungeons & Dragons is still going strong, Penguin Random House has a junior novelization of Season 1 set for July, and the soon-to-open Netflix Houses in Dallas and King of Prussia are certain to prominently feature Stranger Things imagery and merch.
Trefry says that a feature film is another obvious extension for the Stranger Things universe. And having survived the live theater gauntlet, she’s a firm believer that the story ultimately matters more than the medium when it comes to the continuing story of Hawkins.
“You just have to get to the core of what makes it Stranger Things,” she emphasizes.
The Duffers themselves have booked other Netflix projects, including new adaptations of Stephen King’s The Talisman and the Japanese manga Death Note. But Simon expects them to continue to assist in curating the experiences, products, and narratives that define the next stage of the brand’s mythology.
“We look at all of that as true extensions of storytelling,” Simon says. “And there’s no better way of sticking the landing and creating inspiring items for our fans than by working closely with the creators.”
Not for nothing, but Broadway could become a new forum for other creator-centric Netflix series. Pitched on a Shonda Rhimes-approved Bridgerton musical or a Peter Morgan-scripted expansion of The Crown, Simon sounds all-in on both ideas.
“When I look at the complexity of what the creative team was able to do with The First Shadow, it makes me excited to think about how those titles you mentioned could come to life in a unique way,” he muses. “Theater continues to be on our list, for sure.”
